“So.” Kai’s eyes settled on Arlyn’s mouth as she bit into a berry and chewed. “My speech is done. We have some time. Explain.”
He pulled his gaze back to her eyes. “Now?”
“It should have been yesterday,” she snapped, tone icy.
Kai dropped the fruit he held, his appetite gone. But she was right. “What do you want to know first?”
“Why hadn’t you slept for a week?”
“I was on a difficult mission. Crossing through the Veil takes more energy than it used to, but that was only part of the problem.” Kai pushed his plate aside. “What do you know of the Sidhe?”
Arlyn wiped her hands on her napkin and leaned forward. “Father mentioned that the Moranaians are related. The Sidhe live in fairy hills in another dimension connected to Earth, right?”
Kai nodded. “But a dimension more closely joined than this one. Only a breath away, really. I was negotiating with them. Poisoned energy has been sickening the Sidhe, driving them insane, sometimes even killing them. Every time they rest to restore their reserves, they draw in more sickness.”
“Oh.” Her eyes widened. “That’s why you didn’t sleep.”
“Yes.” Kai tensed against the memory of the dark energy that had beaten at the edge of his senses the entire week. “By the time I made it back, I had next to nothing left. The Veil has grown just that turbulent. How did you make it through so easily?”
She shrugged. “I just walked.”
His eyes narrowed on her face. “When my energy is fully restored, I should test you for the gift of the guide. If you permit.”
“Later.” Arlyn waved a hand. Her eyes sparked at him. “Right now I want to know why you decided to bind my soul to yours. So you didn’t sleep. You were low on energy. Is that supposed to be an excuse?”
Kai gripped the table to still his trembling hands. “No. A factor, but not an excuse. I was energy-crazed. Deprived, you might say. We run on energy, which is partially why we so rarely sicken and why we live so long. Without it, our bodies do strange things. “
“Right.”
“It’s hard to explain.” He shook his head. “Everything was jumbled. I’d found your camp with the steel sword and feared there was an assassin on the loose.” Kai gave a laugh at that. “Guess I was right, if accidentally. But when I noticed you on the path, I pulled in energy in case I needed to fend off an attack. The pain of it disoriented me.”
Her brow furrowed. “Pain?”
“If you’re low enough, converting energy hurts.” Kai shuddered at the memory. “I thought my head was going to split. I just wasn’t thinking. When I realized you were my bonded, I acted on instinct. But I believed you were from a distant branch. I thought you understood when I activated the magic. Even out of my head, I wouldn’t have proceeded if I’d known you didn’t recognize the bond.”
Arlyn’s eyes shifted away, and she toyed with a piece of cheese on her plate. “I felt something.”
His heart pounded. “Something?”
The fire was back in her eyes when she looked up at him. “But that doesn’t mean I’m letting you off easy. I need to think about this. This is major. No matter how you make me feel.”
His grip tightened, and his fingers went white around the table’s edge. “Would you care to expand on that?”
Another knock sounded on the door, and he cursed. If Lyr had come back to insult him again, there would be a fight. Kai would lose, but still. Then the healer entered, and Kai sagged in relief. He would never bridge the anger between himself and Lyr if they kept snapping at one another. Besides, he was in no shape to be trounced.
“Back to bed,” Lial said. “I want to do another healing session before the presentation. I believe Lynia wanted to see you, Arlyn.”
Kai’s jaw clenched, but he nodded. “We’ll continue this later.”
Arlyn’s brow rose. “Maybe.”
Arlyn fought the urge to cross her arms over her chest, although the mirror had already told her she was covered. But she might as well be naked. The fabric of the dress, layers and layers of green gauze, was just that light. She ran the thumb of her free hand along the golden leaves embroidered on the top layer of cloth as Kai’s warmth burned into her other side.
Their steps were slow as they made their way to her presentation, and she could tell by his tight expression how much he hated leaning on her so heavily. But walk he did. Moranaian healing was potent, though not without cost. Arlyn had passed Lial on the way back from her grandmother’s room, and the healer’s face had been gray. Not the vital gray of Telia’s skin, either. He’d looked as though he was going to sink into himself. But Kai was well enough now to walk.
Finally, they approached the large doors leading to the convening room. She stumbled to a halt at the sight of the man standing before the doors. A long, heavy-looking overcoat draped behind him, the fabric embroidered to look like the shifting mists of the Veil, and his brown hair fell unbound down his back. Was that her father? He looked over his shoulder, and she caught Lyr’s face in profile. It was the first time she’d seen him looking, well, elven.
He turned. Behind him, she caught a glimpse of the people milling in the room beyond the partly opened doors. But she could only stare at her father. In a gesture that should have been feminine but somehow wasn’t, Lyr flipped the length of his coat behind him and approached, a smile on his lips. How could he even move under all that weight? Besides the coat, he wore a jeweled sword strapped over a tunic and pants that gleamed like the silver circlet bound across his brow. Arlyn shivered as the blood rushed from her face. She’d managed to forget he was a noble.
And so was she.
Lyr’s smile faded when he took in her expression. “Are you unwell?”
“Just nervous.” Arlyn swallowed back the rest of her concerns. How could she explain the fear that shuddered through her at the evidence of his rank? “I’m ready to get this over with.”
His eyes twinkled. “It’s not an execution. I assure you, those are rare.”
That surprised a chuckle out of her. “No. But I still think you have better things to worry about.”
“Arlyn,” Lyr began, taking her free hand. “There is nothing more important than presenting you as my child. Nothing.”
She choked back a sudden sob, her gaze breaking from his long enough to compose herself. Arlyn took a few deep breaths and shoved down as much of the emotion as she could. She’d rather not be blotchy in front of a room full of elves. A few sniffles and a reassuring squeeze on her arm from Kai, and she smiled up at her father. “Thank you.”
Her grandmother arrived, and the moment was broken. Lyr stepped back and offered Lynia his arm, then looked back at Kai and Arlyn. “Ready?”
Arlyn forced herself to straighten, her spine so stiff she thought it would crack, and nodded. Lyr gave her one last smile of reassurance, then led them through the huge double doors. “Take heart,” he sent her, his mental voice soft.
If Lyr hadn’t been moving so quickly, Arlyn would have stopped and stared. The ballroom she had admired her first night was now filled with elves, and the sight stole her breath. They wore a dazzling array of clothes, some simple, others elaborate, in a varied but somehow harmonious blend of colors. Like an extension of the flowers beyond the windows, as though the garden had come alive to mingle beneath the carved trees above them. And the ceiling had changed. Now it was a gentle light blue.
The crowd parted for them, revealing a small dais on the far end of the room. Arlyn tried to study all the different people as they passed, but the task was almost impossible. So much variety. More than she had ever imagined. Humans painted elves as all the same—tall, gorgeous, perfect—but the reality somehow surpassed that ideal.
Like Telia, a few had grayish skin tones, and some were as dark as the night. And though many were tall and slim, a few elves were short and some almost plump. Arlyn’s hand tightened around Kai’s arm until he huffed out a breath. “What is it?”
“It’s so overwhelming. Why didn’t anyone warn me?”
His confusion flowed through their bond. “Of what?”
“I thought I knew about this world. But this…” She forced her fingers to relax. “Everything is different than I expected.”
“We will help. Or Lyr, if you wish me gone.”
He said it matter-of-factly, but he couldn’t hide the pain behind the words. Not with their link. “It’s not that I wish you gone.”
“I know.”
They reached the dais before Arlyn could continue, but she didn’t know what to say to him anyway. She forced her fingers to relax and her free hand to hang loosely at her side, though she wanted to lift it against the ache in her chest. Her heart pounded, and her lungs burned with the effort to control her breath. The strangers’ stares pinned her as surely as the pain she felt from Kai, blending in her heart.
She’d never considered herself as shy before this.
Her father led Lynia to the center of the platform, and she shifted to Lyr’s left as Arlyn took her place at his right hand. Then prayed her terror didn’t show to the crowd. Kai’s weight eased from her, and she gave him a startled glance. Though his expression was neutral—how long would it take to master that talent?—she was close enough to make out the fine, white lines that creased near his eyes and mouth. His pride would cost him much in energy.
Lyr held up his hands for a moment, and the hushed whispers of the audience faded to nothing. “I bid good day to the House of Dianore and thank you for the indulgence of your presence. It is my wish that the month of Belen finds you well and much blessed by the high summer sun. With much happiness, I have invited you here this day to meet one too long gone from our domain and to welcome one you might recognize but know no more.”
Arlyn’s eyes widened at the formality of his words. Here was the elven lord she’d expected to find. Her stomach pitched. She had started to get used to him, to anticipate how he might act. And now she had another side of him to learn. A side so very foreign.
His eyes scanned the crowd. “But with joy often comes sorrow. As such, I mourn that not all in our House could be here this day, and I must ask you to carry the news of this event to those who cannot now hear.”
Lyr paused again as murmurs of consent filled the room before dropping away to silence. “Though an occasion such as this deserves much more elegant speech and celebration, I realize many of you were brought unexpectedly from work that cannot be long delayed. Know that my brevity is not a sign of disrespect but is meant as an honor toward those who still have much to do this day. The event for which we are present must not be lessened by the shortness of my words.”
Arlyn almost rolled her eyes. How much longer could it take to present her as his daughter? Her nerves were frayed enough by this alone. Then he took her hand and stepped forward, lifting it, and the sound of her pounding heart drowned out her thoughts.
“So I present to you now in the light of the Sacred Sun and by the Nine Gods of Arneen a daughter long lost to the House of Dianore, whose courage brought her to us just two days prior. My daughter, Callian Ayala i Arlyn Dianore se Kaienan nai Braelyn.” He pulled a chain from a silver pouch at his waist and raised her hand higher. “As my child, and child of the House of Dianore, I offer her this necklace, hers to give or to hold.”
At her father’s words, a slice of pain darted from Kai to Arlyn. Worried, she looked over at him, but his expression was blank. “What is it?”
“Nothing.” His voice was a bare whisper in her mind. “Run a little of your energy through the pendant to seal it to you.”
Lyr squeezed her hand to get her attention, then draped the necklace around her neck. She wrapped her hand around the silver disk and did as Kai instructed, feeling a slight hum followed by a click. Then she remembered. Hers to give or hold. The second part of the bonding. Kai was probably worried about it. Before she could decide what to say to him, her father turned back to the crowd.
“As she returned to us, so she also found her soul’s match in a friend of our House. Now, the first step of their bonding complete, I introduce to you Callian Myal i Kaienan Dianore se Arlyn nai Braelyn. Our House is blessed to have them both.”
Everyone in that room had to be wondering about this turn of events, but Arlyn detected no sign of their curiosity. Instead, they tapped fists to chest and bowed, their words in almost perfect unison. “We of the House Dianore welcome you as our own.”
Magic thrummed through her as they spoke, a sort of linking like the estate key her father had given her. A belonging. Arlyn gasped with it, but she had little time to process it. Their words were her cue. Her hand convulsed around the pendant as she took a small step forward. They looked at her—really looked at her—a hint of curiosity in the eyes of some.
Arlyn swallowed against the lump in her throat. God, she hoped she didn’t mess this up. She took a deep, bracing breath as Lynia gave her an encouraging smile. “I thank you for your welcome. It honors me that you would leave home and hearth and tasks undone to receive me into the great House of Dianore. I cannot possibly express the pleasure it has brought me to find true family in this House, far from my former home. I could never have imagined such acceptance on my long journey here. As Heir to my father, Myern Lyrnis, I will do my utmost to serve with fairness, justice, and equality. Know that I wish to bring only honor and glory to us all.”
“As do I,” Kai spoke from behind her. “And I offer to Myern Lyrnis, my House, and my mate, the Heir, my long and faithful service as Sonal. May we all grow and prosper beneath the light of the Sacred Sun and the gods of Arneen.”
Detecting Kai’s growing weakness, Arlyn stepped back to let him latch onto her arm once more. He was going to collapse if they stood there much longer. She nudged Lyr mentally and was gratified by his quick response. “Father, we need to end this. Kai needs to sit before he falls on his face.”
After a quick glance at Kai, Lyr gave a slight nod. “The House of Dianore acknowledges and returns your oaths of service with gratitude. And now, I fear that I have kept us too long from our tasks. I give thanks once more to all who shared in this joyous occasion. For those who wish, Merryl has been kind enough to prepare a midday feast for all to enjoy in the garden. We will join you there in a moment, and you may introduce yourselves informally to my daughter.”
On a swell of murmurs and curious glances, the crowd dispersed. Arlyn turned to her father, her brow raised. “After the length of your intro, I can’t believe you ended that so quickly.”
“You called me father again.”
“So I did.” A smile trembled on her lips. “We can discuss it later if you like, but we need to get Kai sitting. Otherwise, you’ll have to help carry him in addition to all those clothes.”
Lyr laughed, drawing looks from those still around them. “To the garden, then.”
Ralan had few preparations to complete since Mandy already handled much of the daily operations of his business. Officially, he was taking his daughter out of the country in search of a cure for a rare form of cancer. He had ensured she was diagnosed with something that had several experimental treatments in other countries in case of this exact scenario, so there would be little media speculation over his actions. And if she had to stay in Moranaia, it would be easy to pretend she had not recovered. If that were the case, he would simply disappear from the human world. He would never be able to pretend such a thing.
Ralan only hoped he could avoid his father for as long as possible. He did not want to be put in the position of having to disobey the king, but he refused to allow himself to be used again. The things he had Seen still haunted his dreams. Hopefully, his father had found another seer to guide his hand. Even 312 years after their argument, Ralan still wouldn’t use his talent on purpose. He could not stop the random, spontaneous visions, but he refused to intentionally look into the lives of others. Not after Kenaren.
He would not think of Kenaren.
With an angry shove, Ralan clo
sed the lid on the trunk he had just finished packing. There weren’t many things he needed to carry across the Veil. For himself, only a few favorite robes and tunics he’d once brought from Moranaia. Despite the centuries he’d been gone, they shouldn’t be too out of fashion. He hoped. The other items were for Eri. He’d packed a set of clothes he’d designed for her in the elven style, a picture of her mother, and a few of her toys.
His brow furrowed. How could Eri have so few attachments to the human world? She’d been born and raised here, but his daughter seemed to care as little for life on Earth as he did. She hadn’t even asked about her mother. Thank the gods. That bitch would never get closer to his daughter than a picture in a frame. He had included it in case Eri ever asked what she’d looked like.
“Are you done now, laial?”
He spun around, surprised to find Eri standing behind him. She rarely had the energy to walk anymore, but today she looked better than she had in quite some time. Her color was good, and she did not waver on her feet. “What are you doing in here, beloved? You should be resting for the journey.”
“I wanted to see you. ’Sides, I’m too excited to sleep. I can’t wait to go home.”
He frowned. “I never knew you considered Moranaia home.”
“I knew we weren’t going back yet, and it would have hurt you if I’d said so.”
His heart ached at the serious, almost adult expression on her face. “Eri, are you sure you are well?”
“At the moment. I just had to tell you…” She brushed back a lock of her long, black hair and shifted on her feet. “You won’t like it.”
“Eri,” he said, the tone of his voice enough to warn her of his impatience.
“Try not to be too hard on Lord Kai, even when he gets upset. He doesn’t know what a good thing this is for him. He’s only worried about Lady Arlyn, and he’s afraid of causing more tension with Lord Lyr. He’ll be a good ally, you know, even if you’re going to have to do things you don’t want to.”
Soulbound (The Return of the Elves Book 1) Page 13