“My daughter isn’t with you?” Mrs. Pálko questioned.
Dalía knew that she was giving her friend’s mother a look of utter confusion. Nóra had not stayed with her in over two weeks.
“No, ma’am. She hasn’t stayed with me in more than two weeks,” Dalía answered.
She watched as Nóra’s mother covered her face with one of her hands dejectedly. Something had to be going on if her mother was expecting her to be somewhere that she was not.
“Nóra ran away. I had assumed it was to stay with your family on a permanent basis,” Nóra’s mother stated in a gloomy ton. “She left a note but I don’t know where my daughter is. I already lost one of my girls to that school in Gemaronica. Now I’ve lost them both.”
“I’m so sorry, Mrs. Pálko!” she exclaimed. “I have not seen or heard from Nóra in days. I don’t know where she could be.”
“If you hear from her or see her will you tell her I’m worried about her?”
“Of course I will. I hope she comes home soon, Mrs. Pálko.”
“So do I. You should get home before you worry your sister.”
“I’m going home now.”
Dalía turned and started to walk back towards the road. It was not a quick walk home so it would give her plenty of time to think. She did not want to believe that Nóra was gone, but she also had no idea of where she could even be. It made her wonder what was wrong or what happened that would make her dearest friend disappear from those that care about her. She hung her head as she turned in the direction that would take her home. How was she ever going to explain this to Julíus, much less Ísábella and everyone else? Nóra had ran away without a trace or an explanation, leaving her to pick up whatever pieces she left behind with the others.
Shane had not been in control of the Empress’s forces in Corinthia a full week yet and Ísábella was already causing trouble. He had expected it but had hoped that the Empress’s words would cause the overzealous narcissist to hold herself back some. It was the hope of a fool to think that she would simply stand back and hand over leadership to him. Ísábella was too dominant of a person to allow herself to ever be someone who submits without keeping some form of management over those she felt were below her. Her domineering personality would only be curbed by something she found enticing and the only thing Shane knew that Ísábella found appealing other than Eídéard was power.
It was very clear to him that there was only one way he would remain in authority over this group and that was by leading Ísábella to believe she had more influence than she truly did. They worked very well together. He knew that was true. It seemed to him that his and Ísábella’s minds often ran on the same wavelength. Perhaps that was his answer, to propose to her that they do this together. If she accepted that, then he would no longer have obstacles to maintain his new position. Leading this group that was years behind where they should be, was his gift from his liege for taking the first blood in the war to come. He had no intentions on just handing it back over to Ísábella when she clearly was not qualified to manage a growing group of soldiers for the Empress without his help.
He was again grateful that his family was wealthy, allowing his father to secure them a large home with a basement that would serve as their base of operations in Moserovo. He sat in a small room that he was starting to turn into an office of sorts for himself waiting on Eídéard to arrive from Ilysia and he expected the Fae to have Ísábella with him. Rafe would never be able to keep her in line but Eídéard was completely different. It was likely his Fae blood. Full blooded Fae were known to have a different kind of power over all those that were not of their kind, some kind of seductive element that was built into their very DNA. That made it much easier for Shane to understand why Eídéard was always able to maintain a strong hold over Ísábella’s will. She was the most stubborn woman he had ever met and it proved that Rafe was definitely outmatched with her.
“Are we late?” he heard the familiar voice of Eídéard ask.
“Not at all,” Shane quickly answered as he looked up to see the Fae standing there with Ísábella as he had expected. “Come have a seat.”
He motioned towards the sofa that he had placed on the other side of his desk and watched as they both walked towards it in silence. They took their seats as if they were friends and not lovers. He knew the truth of their affair. They had no reason to attempt to hide it in front of him.
“The two of you do not have to hide your true relationship in front of me alone. I’ve known from before you ever confirmed it to me,” Shane remarked with a slight smirk.
He watched closely as Ísábella and Eídéard both relaxed. She leaned into her lover as they entwined their hands together. Now they actually appeared exactly as they were, lovers that rarely got to show their affection for each other in front of others.
“I was wondering, Shane, when do we make our move to take this girl away from the Resistance?” Ísábella inquired.
“We don’t, Ísábella,” he responded calmly. “We need her to come willingly.”
“I thought this was why you murdered her brother.”
“That was only to start to break her faith in the Resistance. It was only the first step. There will be a war fought. I can guarantee that.”
“Does my aunt know you still expect a full scale war?” Eídéard questioned.
“Of course she does. If there is one thing that the Empress is not, then that is foolish. She has confidence that her prisoner will be the next thing she needs to start to bring Addí to us.”
“Yes, her mysterious prisoner.”
“You do not even know who the prisoner is, Eídéard?” Ísábella asked.
“No one outside of my aunt, Maríṣka, Mattías, an Oracle, and two servants know who it is. She’s very determined to keep their identity a secret until she is confident it is the right time to reveal her.”
“But you know it’s a woman?”
“Only by accident, my dear Bella. I was never meant to know anything of this person yet.”
Shane quietly observed the exchange between Ísábella and her Fae lover. Eídéard was quite close to the Empress by sharing her blood alone, but for him to know this small detail of her secret prisoner said a lot. Whether he had been meant to learn that or not, Shane knew that he had revealed it to them for a reason. He was far from irrational. No, if anything Shane knew Eídéard to be one of the most intelligent members of the Empress’s inner circle. If only Fae society was not so matriarchal because he would be a much better heir for their liege than her own daughters.
“Yet you told us that this prisoner is a woman, Eídéard,” Shane remarked.
“I am curious to know if it would be possible that you and my Bella could possibly get my aunt to reveal who she has held captive. This woman must be someone of great importance to the rebellious leaders in Ilysia who refuse to bow to her,” Eídéard concluded.
“Her Grace is wise. If she is keeping the identity of this woman hidden, then they are most definitely important to the Resistance and its Ilysian allies.”
“But who could it be?” Ísábella questioned.
“I do not have a clue. Eídéard, has her grace ever mentioned a particular person to you?”
“No she has not,” the male Fae admitted. “But I do remember that she sent Mattías and some of his Weres on a special mission when Ísábella first came to pledge her loyalty.”
Both of their eyes instantly moved to Ísábella and it was easy to tell that she was deep in thought. Was it possible that she heard the name mentioned the first time she visited the Empress?
“After her grace had an Oracle tell the prophecy, we spoke for a few moments about who the girl must descend from as she would have to have the blood of Queen Maelyn as well as that of Queen Anna and King Henry,” Ísábella began, her face making it obvious that she was reliving the memory of that very day.
“And what happened after that, Bella?” Eídéard asked.
“Mattías s
aid something that made the Empress very happy so happy that she said she could kiss him.”
Shane could not help but laugh. The Weres were considered the lowest class of magical races in Ilysia, with only humans below them. From what little he knew of the Empress, kissing any Were was something that was below her.
“What could he have said to make our Empress ever say those words to him?” Shane inquired.
“She wanted to know if a member of the human royal court had ever taken a lover at Queen Résalyn’s court and Mattías remarked that it would have to be one of Résalyn’s children,” Ísábella recalled.
Eídéard let out a gasp, making his epiphany obvious. He had figured out exactly who the Empress was hiding from them and keeping as her prisoner.
“Princess Kélinae,” Eídéard practically blurted out. “It has to be her.”
Shane looked at the Fae with a raised eyebrow. If Eídéard was right with his guess, then not only did that make Addí and Zak Fae royalty but human royalty too. His father had told him the stories he was told at meetings about the missing heir to the White Fae throne and how she had once been the lover of the King of the humans and white Witches.
“I remember that name being mentioned now!” Ísábella slightly exclaimed.
“She is Résalyn’s heir and had been the lover to the King,” Shane added.
“And now she’s a captive of the true ruler of Ilysia,” Eídéard declared. “If we are right about this that is.”
“I know we are,” Ísábella explained. “I remember that name being said and the Empress’s orders for none of the Weres to bite her. She wanted her unharmed.”
“She’s the bait,” Shane concluded with a mischievous smirk. “We just have to make sure that the Resistance falls for it.
Ísábella’s laugh was wickedly intoxicating. Shane found himself getting almost as wrapped up in her excitement as her lover did. He now knew without a doubt that he had made the right decision to follow his father’s suggestions which lead him to not only joining the Empress but taking out Zak. He wanted to be able to see her so he could learn just how much like her mother that Addí truly was. If the Weres were ordered to never harm Kélinae then perhaps it was time they go to the Empress with their newly discovered knowledge so they could serve her even better by bringing her exactly what she wants, Addí.
Rafe had been sitting around in a partially dark living room. As usual, Ísábella had been gone for days; she always was when she went to Ilysia. He was not sure why he would ever expect that to change. He thought that after she had first returned and there had been some intimacy between them again that things would be different. He really hated being wrong almost as much as he detested always being alone. He knew that Julíus, Dalía, Líssi, and Adéla were there. The teenagers were all upstairs together and his daughter had been asleep for nearly two hours. It seemed that what he truly disliked was feeling as if he was alone. He sighed aloud in the silent room before hearing the sound of the back door slowly opening.
He jumped up from where he sat. No one who lived there ever opened the door that slow. Whoever it was had to be very unexpected or they were there for far worse reasons. He practically glided through the room and into the kitchen as quickly and silently as he could. The dim light in the kitchen flickered as he stepped into the small room to find the most surprising person standing in front of him. He had always felt she was alive but it had been over three years without a word from her. He had never felt more happy or grateful in his life than he did in that moment.
“Níkolína?” he questioned. “Is that really you?”
She smiled at him warmly. The years had not changed her appearance much. She was still his beautiful younger sister.
“Yes, Rafe,” she answered quietly. “It’s really me.”
“What are you doing here and more importantly where the hell have you been?” he asked, still stunned to see her there.
She laughed. Rafe had not realized how much he missed seeing her until he heard that. He could not help but smile. Three years had been far too long to go without seeing her.
“I’ve heard a lot of strange things, Rafe. I had to see you,” she began.
“What kind of strange things?” he inquired.
“Rumors of war.”
Her answer told him exactly where she had been. He had suspected that when Níkolína told him she was going away that she had gone to Ilysia. Now he had confirmation of it.
“You’ve been in Ilysia all this time. I had a feeling,” he admitted to her.
“My life has been good, Rafe. I’m happy. There was nothing here in Moserovo for me after what happened,” she responded.
“I’m not upset with you, Níkí! You did what you had to do. Yes, it left me without much of a choice of what to do but I’m not angry, especially considering you witnessed what happened.”
“I kept seeing it every time I closed my eyes, Rafe. Our father is dead to me and I will always feel he deserves far worse than what he has.”
“I can’t disagree with you on that, but I’m so happy to see you.”
He quietly approached her and pulled her into a brotherly embrace. His little sister, his only sister was alive and well. It had been a hope he had to keep alive in himself and Julíus that Níkí was perfectly fine but that never stopped him from worrying.
“Please don’t tell, Julíus, I’m here,” she quietly pleaded as she took a step back.
“Why? He’s been driving me crazy with wanting to go find you!” he argued.
“I’m not surprised. He’s our little brother and he’s always been a worrier.”
“He can’t help that, Níkí. He had a harder childhood than the two of us put together.”
“And you’re the one I came here to see.”
He looked at her with a curious expression and slightly lifted eyebrow. He had worried just as much as Julíus did but did not like to show it. He could not show that or he risked more problems in his everyday life. His little brother would have made things even harder if he had been expressing more worry over their sister. As for the woman he was sharing his life with, she would not have believed it was only about Níkí but that was Ísábella’s way of always seeming as if she did not truly care about anything but herself. He knew that all too well.
“Then tell me about these rumors,” he insisted.
“It’s nice to know some things haven’t changed,” she remarked. “You still know how to boss me around.”
He laughed aloud without another thought. She had not changed much either.
“You don’t seem to be much different yourself,” he affirmed as he finished laughing.
“I’m more different than you know,” she proclaimed.
“How so?”
“And you’re avoiding what I told you about rumors.”
“Fine, Níkolína. Tell me about them.”
He watched her closely as she shook her head at his response. It was nice to seem to instantly fall into the grove of how close they used to be even with all the time that had passed. He wondered if she even knew he was now a father.
“Are you leading the forces of the Empress?” she asked bluntly.
“I’m not leading them but I have been serving her,” Rafe admitted.
Rafe watched the look in his sister’s eyes closely. It was obvious to him that those were not the words she wanted to hear. Was she possibly working for the Resistance?
“You’re not happy,” he observed.
“I’m disappointed, Rafe, there’s a difference,” she asserted.
“You side with the Resistance.”
“I said nothing of the sort, but I cannot support the Empress. I’ve been living in Ilysia. I know what it’s like there and how the people feel about it far better than you do.”
He exhaled loudly, trying to contain how he was thinking and feeling. Was this really why she was there?
“This is why you came?” he questioned.
“No but I can’t lie about
the fact I wanted answers about what my brother is doing where Ilysia is concerned,” she imparted.
“I care more about the fact you’re alive than a war that has yet to even begin, Níkí.”
“Then please promise me you will be careful.”
“There’s no need for you to worry. I’m happy, Rafe. I’m married and I have a daughter of my own now. I assure you that your biggest worry in Ilysia is not for my safety but what is coming in the near future.”
She was married and a mother? His little sister was not so little anymore but she had been an adult long before any government considered her one. The only warmth they had known growing up had been their mother and grandmother. Age and illness took their grandmother and the father ended their mother’s life in the cruelest way possible, right in front of his younger siblings. He was not sure if Julíus would ever truly recover and knew it was what made Níkolína essentially run away. So much had changed and he was not sure how to explain what his life had become to her. Her words had stunned him. She knew where his loyalties were but she also had built a life for herself in Ilysia. She already had much of what he had always hoped she would.
“Married? A daughter?” he asked, curious and still slightly astonished at her revelations.
“Yes. I met him not long after I arrived in Ilysia. He’s a good man and the way he makes me feel is all I have ever dreamed of and more,” Níkolína confessed. “I named my daughter for our mother. She’s almost five months old.”
“Rahéla is a beautiful name. I have a daughter now myself.”
“With Ísábella or did you finally meet another woman more worthy of my big brother?”
“You never did like her.”
“So you are still with her.”
He could tell by her tone that she was slightly disgusted and angry. Níkolína and Ísábella had never been very fond of each other. His sister had, on more than one occasion, called his girlfriend vile to her face. She had even asked him what he could see in a woman like Ísábella to love. He never was able to give Níkí an answer that she would accept.
A Darkness Awakens Page 22