by Jann Rowland
As for Tierra’s cousin, River appeared to now realize that there were possibilities beyond doing one’s duty. She had learned there was beauty in the world that she had taken for granted before. She had learned that she was fond of her fiancé and that she might even come to love him.
Never had Tierra felt such hope for the future, such a fire burning within her to right the wrongs of the world. She could not do it all herself—mending the enmity between Skychild and Groundbreather was an effort that would continue long after she was gone—but she knew that the first step was hers and Skye’s to take. They would leave the world a better place than it had been when they had entered it.
When Tierra finally left her ruminations and stepped inside her room, she allowed her attendants to prepare her for the evening. She was to dine with the king again, and her attendants always insisted on trying to make her look her best.
Tierra sighed as the women went about their work. Her reconciliation with Canyon had been accomplished far easier than she had any right to expect. Or want. There was something about him . . . . Well, it was something she did not wish to consider, though she would have to do so at some point.
“There,” Violet said, stepping back from Tierra and startling her out of her thoughts. “You truly look like a princess. The king will be pleased.”
Tierra did not particularly appreciate the woman’s words, but she said nothing. Her attendants had not promoted their king’s interests—whatever they were—as blatantly as they had the night she had fought with River, but they were not shy about making little comments that almost seemed designed to provoke her anger. Not that such was their purpose, of course; in fact, she thought it was actually the opposite, though she wondered whether Canyon was so insecure that he needed three servants to speak on his behalf.
Saying only some short words of thanks, Tierra rose and departed the room. River had declined the evening’s invitation, as she had been doing more often of late. Though River did not state any reasons for her reticence, Tierra suspected she feared saying something to offend Canyon if he strayed into the topics that had caused the recent disagreement. There was no firmer or more rabid supporter than River once she had committed herself.
Canyon was waiting in the dining room for Tierra’s arrival, and when he espied her, he approached, taking in her appearance with a single glance. Though there was nothing lewd or even remotely lascivious about the gesture, Tierra felt uncomfortable at his scrutiny.
“You look exquisite tonight, Tierra,” Canyon said, bowing to kiss her hand.
“Thank you, Your Majesty,” Tierra replied, wishing he would not speak to her in such a manner.
Guiding her to the table, Canyon held her chair out for her, seating himself once she had sat down. He smiled at her and asked, “Has River chosen not to join us again?”
“She prefers to eat in her rooms tonight,” Tierra said.
The king smiled. “Though I enjoy her company, I am glad she has acted with such foresight. It allows us more time to come to know one another without outside influences to distract us.”
It was all Tierra could do not to scowl. Little comments like these—slightly flirtatious and overly familiar—made her uncomfortable in Canyon’s presence. She wished she could throw caution to the wind and stress the fact that she was already engaged to be married. Canyon was a good man, but he was not Skye. Tierra could never love another like she loved Skye.
“I do not think she acted with any ‘foresight’ at all,” Tierra replied, keeping her tone mild. “In fact, River longs to return to the world above ground. She misses her fiancé, from whom she has been taken abruptly and unjustly.”
Canyon cocked his head to the side. “I do not recall any mention of her fiancé being present in your castle. In fact, my information suggested that it has been several months since they last met. Where has this sudden longing sprung up from?”
This time, Tierra did not even attempt to mask her displeasure. “Whether she was with him at the time of her abduction or not, the fact remains that she was forcibly taken from everything she has ever known and deposited in some hole so deep underground that she has little hope of ever returning home.”
Frowning, Canyon said, “You would call Terrain’s realm nothing more than a hole?”
“I do not mean to insult you, Your Majesty,” Tierra said. “I understand you feel some attachment to your home. But you only see a small part of the majesty of Terrain here under the ground.”
“In what way do you mean?”
“I mean the lack of most of Terrain’s creations.”
The king looked at her blankly, and Tierra shook her head.
“There are obviously things to admire underground. Your castle took my breath away when I first saw it, and the gems you mine are exquisite and far more abundant than I could ever have dreamed possible. I will admit all that.
“But there is nothing of Terrain’s living creations to be found here, nothing of the majesty of the works we see every day. You have no animals; there are no trees, flowers, or shrubs. I have seen nothing down here but a little lichen growing on the side of a rock. Everything seems so cheerless down here. From the food you eat to the way you dance for Terrain, everything seems so . . . lifeless.”
“We have beauties enough,” Canyon replied. “Is it such a trial to live among us?”
As he spoke, he drew closer, his voice becoming husky. “I cannot help but be happy that you are here, Tierra. I had heard many things about you, but nothing I heard was in any way comparable to the reality.”
He was a handsome man, and Tierra had to admit that if she were not already in love with Skye, then she might have been tempted to give in to his wooing. But he was nothing like Skye. And she was not tempted in the slightest.
“I am glad you are more impressed by the reality,” Tierra said, slowly leaning away from Canyon. She did not want to offend him, but she did not want to give him the opportunity to overstep his bounds either. “However, if you truly wish to please me, then you should let me and River spend a few hours on the surface.”
Canyon froze for a moment, and Tierra thought perhaps he would become angry. But then he laughed. “I am not so foolish as that. I know you want to make an escape attempt or to place yourself closer to that Skychild king. Even if Quicksilver would allow it—which he assuredly would not—I would have to refuse you this request. Perhaps you might be able to come up with something more reasonable?”
“You say that Quicksilver would not allow it,” Tierra said, latching onto his words about that odious man. “But are you not king? Why do you have to do what Quicksilver says?”
Canyon’s cheek twitched, and Tierra suspected that he regretted his words. At last, however, he responded, “Quicksilver is a powerful and important man. That is all you need to know.”
“And this is all tied into my presence down here,” Tierra said with a sigh. She should have known she would not receive any useful information. “I do not understand why I would be spirited away from home only to sit here and do absolutely nothing. What could you hope to gain by taking a princess who is not even first in line to the throne? It does not make any sense.”
Canyon reached out and placed a hand on hers, which was resting on the table. “I know you are impatient, but you need only wait.”
“I feel as if I am waiting for the cave to collapse onto my head,” Tierra grumbled. Uncomfortable, she extracted her hand out from beneath Canyon’s.
The king chuckled, though his eyes had followed the withdrawal of Tierra’s hand from his. “It is nothing as drastic as that. You need not worry.”
But Tierra had the feeling she and Canyon had completely different ideas of what legitimate causes for concern were.
When Terrain had watched over the Groundwalkers for some time, he saw that they were good, and he knew his works had created a world filled with order, as he had designed. Then, Celesta the sky goddess called for his attention.
“That garm at your
side is handsome, to be certain, but he cannot come up to enjoy my skies,” said she. “You must make creatures with wings.”
“What are these wings of which you speak?”
“They are limbs that would protrude from a creature’s back,” said Celesta, her tone proud. “With wings, the creatures might fly among the clouds.”
Terrain looked upon the sky goddess in vexation and said, “The animals I have created love the places where they live. Animals cannot stay in the sky forever, as they must rest, so there is no purpose in making creatures who can take to the air.”
“But we could make homes for them in the air,” said Celesta. “We could make places for them to rest.”
“It shall not be so,” said Terrain. “There is a clarity to the skies that should be marred by none other than the clouds, which bring rain to parched soil. To fill the skies with fluttering monsters would be to create a nightmare from which there is no escape. I will not do as you have said. Do not ask this of me again.”
And Celesta the sky goddess glared down at the land and cursed Terrain.
CHAPTER
TWENTY-SIX
Nightmare
The days of travel wore on Skye. His physical state was affected by more than just the tiring journey. It was also affected by his hope, which now seemed to be dwindling more and more with every passing day. He had never thought he would be so dependent on another person, but he had wrapped up everything in Tierra, and the feeling that he had barely made any progress on his mission began to overwhelm him. His meditations failed more frequently, and soon, he began having the same vivid nightmare, over and over, every night.
In his dream, he was staring at Tierra through a smoky haze. The atmosphere was sweltering, and fiery sparks leaped through the air, as though following the thick streams of gray smoke.
Sweat pouring down his face, Skye peered at Tierra. Whereas Skye’s vision was hazy, she seemed unaffected by their surroundings. She stood there, a statue frozen in one position, her eyes fixed unblinkingly on his.
Skye moved his lips, trying to shout for her, but nothing came out of his mouth. His vocal cords were paralyzed, or maybe he simply could not hear. He stepped forward in desperation, his feet moving over the stones with great effort, only for a chasm to open up between him and Tierra.
A great roar sounded from within the chasm, as if it housed some immense monster, but Skye was too focused on Tierra to worry about the threat within the ground.
He tried harder to shout for Tierra, and then she broke her eyes away from him. Slowly, she turned, as though to look at something just out of sight.
He yelled louder, trying to get her attention, but she would not turn back to him. He called and called, and the hole between them grew larger and larger, and fire began to shoot upward between them. The heat became so great that Skye knew he would be burned if he stayed there much longer, but he could not stand to leave her. And so he stared at her from afar, watching her as the smoke thickened and eventually blinded him, making it so that he could see her no longer.
He would then awaken from the dream, sweating and confused and horrified, even though it was a nightmare he had experienced again and again.
One night, Skye heard a quiet voice saying, “Skye! Skye, wake up.”
He opened his eyes and sat up, his heart racing. As he tilted his head back, he saw the outline of Sequoia’s form in the moonlight, and he realized she had been shaking him awake. His brain immediately went to the fact that she was not supposed to touch Skychildren, but rather than call attention to what had happened, he only gave her a questioning look.
“You were crying out her name,” she said quietly.
“I’m sorry that I woke you up,” Skye murmured, uncomfortable that Sequoia had seen him in such a vulnerable state.
“You were not loud. I was already awake.”
Skye gazed around at the camp, glad to see he had not disturbed anyone else. And then something occurred to him, and he glanced sharply at Sequoia. “You said my name.”
“I am afraid you are delusional, Skychild.”
Skye smiled. “I feel the same way about you, Sequoia.”
“Have I given you leave to speak to me so familiarly?” Sequoia asked. The amusement in her tone indicated she was not offended.
“You are going to be my mother-in-law one day, aren’t you?”
The queen grimaced. “Do not remind me.”
Skye laughed. “You know you can’t wait for that day to come.”
“If it means I will have Tierra back, then I shall gladly call you by whatever frivolous sky realm name you have chosen for yourself.”
“I know what you mean, Sequoia.”
She gave him a glare at the intentional use of her name. “You had better watch it, Skychild. It is not too late for me to cancel our truce.”
“Thank you, Sequoia.”
She crossed her arms, another spark of irritation flaring in her eyes. “For what?”
He lowered himself back down to his bedroll and closed his eyes. “For caring.”
“The only one I care about is Tierra.”
“I know,” Skye said with a smile. “The fact that you’re willing to work with me to find her speaks volumes for how great your feelings are for Tierra.”
“I suppose the same could be said about you.”
“Let’s hope we can find her soon. Then we can go back to cheerfully hating one another.”
Sequoia let out a bark of laughter. “Indeed. The sooner that occurs, the better.”
“I agree wholeheartedly with that.”
A few times a day, Skye would reach out to the bond he shared with Tierra. Every time he tried and failed, he became more disheartened. And then finally, one morning, there was a flicker.
Skye, who had been riding Stardust, froze at the detection of something at the edge of his consciousness. He pushed out with his bond, pressing and probing, trying to make a connection with Tierra. And then, like light bursting over the horizon, Tierra’s mind was suddenly opened to him. Their feelings and thoughts collided together, touching, nuzzling, caressing.
“Tierra!” Skye exclaimed in Tierra’s mind.
“Skye?”
Had Tierra been speaking to him physically rather than directly in his mind, Skye thought she might have been trembling, so great was the emotion he felt over their bond. Skye reveled in her presence, feeling as if he were bathing in the flames of her love.
“Skychild?”
The sound of Sequoia’s voice broke through Skye’s concentration, and he blinked. Sequoia had moved in front of him and was regarding him with a level of concern that seemed unwarranted for someone who still professed to hate him. Looking about, Skye noticed that the rest of the group was also staring at him with a mix of confusion and concern.
“You suddenly forced Stardust to stop and wouldn’t move any further forward,” Gusty said by way of explanation. “Is something wrong?”
“Skye?” Tierra’s voice said in his mind.
“One moment, love. I seem to have startled everyone by stopping abruptly.”
Though Skye could feel the questions in her mind, Tierra stayed silent, waiting for him to speak to her again.
“Nothing is wrong, Gusty,” Skye said with a grin. “In fact, things could not be more right. I’ve made contact with Tierra.”
“Tierra?” Sequoia exclaimed. She and Gusty crowded closer to Skye, demanding explanations, each trying to speak over the other.
Skye laughed at their jumbled words. “I’ve only just found her. If you’ll give me a minute, I’ll get her to explain what happened.”
Reluctantly, the two subsided, though they watched him closely.
Skye then turned his attention back inward.
“Tierra, where in Celesta’s great skies are you? We’ve been traveling for weeks, but I still have no idea who these people are or where they’ve tried to take you.”
“They are Groundbreathers, Skye,” Tierra said. “They are h
olding me and River captive in an underground city.”
“Underground city?” Skye exclaimed. “Hold on.”
Skye turned to Sequoia. “Do you know anything about an underground city of Groundbreathers?”
The woman shook her head. “Not specifically. There have been rumors at times of other groups of Groundbreathers, but if there is an entire city of them under the ground, I know nothing of them.”
“Well, that’s where Tierra and River are being held.”
Sequoia looked at him sternly. “I believe it would be best if you completed your conversation with my daughter and then informed us of what you have learned.”
“Of course, Your Majesty,” Skye said with a mocking grin. Giddy with relief, he reached out and grasped her hand, bestowing a kiss on the back. He laughed when she yanked it away from him. Her show of mock affront did not fool him in the slightest. The fact that she did not threaten to kill him for touching her spoke for itself. Jasper’s glare, however, did not go unnoticed.
“Are you finished flirting with my mother now?”
“Ah, Tierra! I can’t tell you how good it feels to be able to speak with you again.”
“I am certain I already know, for I feel that way myself.”
Basking in the light of her affection, Skye returned to the matter at hand. “So you were captured by Groundbreathers. What can you tell me about them?”
“Apparently, they have always been here, or so they claim. They say that before Terrain left them, all Groundbreathers lived here. Some were sent to the surface to establish a kingdom above the ground, while some remained behind. Their traditions say that those sent above the ground were encouraged to forget where they came from.”