Seared

by Bethany Adams

  “Turn right into the next driveway,” Delbin said. “We had to do this when we captured Kien. It’s a bit more of a walk, though.”

  Ralan merely nodded and pulled into the driveway when it appeared. After a short way, the trees thinned to reveal the slope of a hill. At Delbin’s direction, Ralan stopped the car and darted around the front, gathering Cora in his arms while his apprentice struggled out with Inona.

  They didn’t speak as they hurried through the trees to the ridge on the far edge of the hill. Ralan gathered magical energy with each step, though his previous mental blast hadn’t hurt Kien. He’d have to break through his brother’s shield if they encountered him again. He couldn’t carry Cora and wield a blade, and he’d never been very good at physical combat in any case.

  But when they reached the gap in the rock wall that held the portal, they found Kai and Arlyn helping Maddy to her feet.

  Ralan drew to a startled halt, Delbin just behind him. “What are you doing here?”

  “You have your daughter to thank,” Kai answered with a chuckle.

  But Ralan wasn’t amused. “What did she do?”

  “Hijacked Lyr’s mirror.” A quick grin of appreciation crossed Kai’s lips. “I wonder if she escaped before he made it to the study to see who triggered the spell. Guess we’ll find out soon.”

  “I’m going to give her the longest lecture of her life,” Ralan said. Then he noticed Maddy’s dazed expression. “Are you hurt?”

  She shook her head. “Fen bargained for me. I don’t think either of them realized I was awake. Kien had Fen link him with the Earth in return for my life.” Maddy blinked, and her tone filled with awe. “An Unseelie blood elf saving a Seelie Sidhe.”

  “Where did they go?” Ralan asked.

  “Through the portal.” She gestured toward the gap in the wall. “Something about using Kien’s and Inona’s blood to break a spell.”

  “Fuck,” Ralan and Kai said at the same time.

  Chances were good that Kien had reached Moranaia.

  “Maddy,” Ralan began. “I have Cora’s keys. Can you make it around the ridge to her car? If Kien and Fen are in the portal, there should be no more danger out here. I would escort you myself, but we need to go.”

  The half-Sidhe hesitated for a moment but then nodded. “I’ll do it. Won’t that leave you stranded if you come back, though?”

  “Give me your phone number,” Ralan said, already tugging his cell from his pocket. “I’ll call if we need help.”

  As soon as Maddy’s number was programmed in, Ralan spun toward the portal. Lyr’s safeguards on the gate might catch Kien—or they might not. Assassins had made it through before using a cloaking spell, so there was no telling what his brother would be able to do. Not only did Cora and Inona need healing, but Moranaia needed to be secured.

  He would have to trust Maddy to fend for herself.

  The mists of the Veil swirled around them as Fen drew Kien’s blood from his wrist. Just a sip, but enough to make him want to vomit. As his stomach roiled, he used a touch of magic to seal the puncture wounds, out of habit more than consideration. Kien could bleed out for all he cared. Then again, it was probably best not to shed the prince’s foul blood in the Veil.

  Once Fen pulled away, Kien held out the knife. Fen hesitated, but delaying would ultimately do no good. His nose curled as he licked a drop of Inona’s blood from the flat side of the blade. For a moment, his head spun as his body connected with the two new essences that had been introduced.

  Then he dove into the curl of energy Kien had shown him, the one that led to Moranaia. As predicted, it fought against Kien’s essence but allowed Inona’s. Fen’s brow creased with concentration as he struggled against the powerful spell. But finally, the resistance cracked with a force that rattled his teeth.

  Kien would kill him on the other side, but Fen might have a chance to save himself. He didn’t hesitate this time, shoving Kien away from him, toward the energy of Moranaia. Fen’s heart pounded as the prince tossed a mocking grin over his shoulder. But Kien followed the momentum of the shove, not bothering to attack.

  Laughter echoed. Then Fen was alone.

  He peered around at the rolling mist and sighed. He barely understood the Veil, and a quick scan with his magic found no sign of Earth’s energy signature. Fen took a few steps. Nothing. Was he going to be stuck in this place forever? His groan floated around him like the tendrils of fog.

  Well, it was better than being dead.

  Probably.

  As soon as Kai pulled Ralan and the others through the portal, Ralan cast his strongest shield around Delbin. Just in time, too. His apprentice cried out, his eyes pinched closed in pain as the greater energy of Moranaia flooded his raw mind. He shuddered, but his arms stayed firm around Inona.

  “Tamp down as I taught you,” Ralan said.

  Delbin’s lips thinned. “Trying. That blast in the cave…”

  “I assumed such.”

  Ralan examined the dark clearing, nothing but the shimmering light of the portal giving illumination. It was late here, probably nearing dawn based on the absence of both moons in the sky. But the portal was protected at all hours.

  He turned to the guard to the left of the portal. “You. Has anyone passed through?”

  The guard straightened. “Milord prince, I have not seen or detected anyone.”

  “Increase your vigilance,” Ralan said. “There’s a chance that an assassin has found a way through. Send out a call to the Taysonal to guard us closely on the way to the estate. I’m sure Lyr will have further instructions later.”

  “Ready,” Delbin said, his voice strained.

  Kai and Arlyn took the lead, Ralan and Delbin following. As they reached the trail on the other side of the clearing, two Taysonal dropped from the trees to guard their backs. Ralan cast his senses wide, but he detected no sign of Kien, only the scouts who watched their hurried steps along the trail.

  Ralan sent a mental call to Lial. “Where are you?”

  Even the healer’s mind-voice was cranky. “If you don’t stop invading my mind uninvited—”

  “We have injured.”

  “My tower,” Lial answered at once. “How many and what type of injuries?”

  “Two. One collapsed after using her energy to heal the other.” He grimaced as he sent an image of Inona’s injury. “She cauterized the wound, but we don’t know how much damage there might still be.”

  “Miaran, she used fire? Never mind. Just come to the tower.”

  “Lial is in his workroom,” Ralan said aloud for the others.

  Kai nodded, increasing his pace, and Arlyn frowned back at Inona. “I hope he can help.”

  At Delbin’s swift intake of breath, Ralan lifted a brow at Arlyn. “I’m sure he can.”

  “Of course,” she said quickly.

  Arlyn likely wondered the same thing Ralan did—had Inona lost too much blood?

  The trees flashed by as they rushed down the trail. Ralan stretched his senses across Braelyn, searching until he found Lyr’s energy signature. He didn’t have to force his way through this time. Lyr was awake, and as soon as Ralan found him, he made contact.

  Anger slipped through with his words. “Your daughter is in big trouble.”

  “She’s the least of our worries,” Ralan said. “Though she’ll have her lecture as soon as I am able, even if she was right.”

  “Eri ordered Kai on a mission,” Lyr snapped. “I can’t imagine anything that would justify a child giving such a command to a member of my household, princess or not.”

  Although Ralan understood his friend’s anger, he didn’t have time to stress over it. “Then get a better imagination. We needed a guide and fast. Kien slashed Inona’s throat and has probably broken through the spell blocking him from Moranaia. My bonded closed Inona’s wound, but she’s barely hanging on. I’ll chide Eri, but it’s difficult to be upset, considering.”

  Silence. Then contrition mixed with concern slipped into
Lyr’s thoughts. “You’re heading for Lial?”

  “Yes.” A gleam of light broke the darkness. “We’re close. Put the estate on high alert. Kien may already be here using one of those damn cloaks that slip through wards. I image he’ll head toward the palace, but there’s no guarantee.”

  “I’ll take care of it. Keep me updated on Inona.”

  Ralan disconnected from Lyr as the trees thinned, revealing the clearing around Lial’s tower. A mage light shone from a lantern beside the open door and illuminated the healer’s face as he waited. Kai and Arlyn moved aside and let Ralan and Delbin rush past.

  Lial ducked out of the way as Delbin strode through the doorway. Delbin barely glanced at the long workbench to the left, striding instead toward the small bed under the window on the right. Ralan hesitated for a moment before taking a seat in a chair over to the side. Carefully, he shifted Cora in his lap, settling her head against his chest.

  She slept on, her breathing steady, but he was beginning to grow concerned. As Delbin lowered Inona to the bed, Ralan searched along his link with Cora. Her mind and energy were quiet, with no sign of turmoil or illness. He frowned. Her energy felt too still. Normally, Cora appeared calm on the surface, but inside she was all fire—not embers harshly banked.

  His heart thundered as he waited. He wanted to insist that Lial check her, but Inona was in worse shape. Sick tension slithered through him, an anxiety that wouldn’t be quieted until Cora’s eyes smiled up at his.

  Interminable.

  Light glowed around Lial’s hands as he lowered them to Inona’s throat. He concentrated there for a moment before his hands shifted to her head and then along the rest of her body. When he returned to her throat again, he stayed there for an endless amount of time. The sound of Delbin’s ragged breathing and the healer’s occasional muttered curse filled the room.

  The glow cut off, and Lial settled back on his heels. “What did she do?”

  “Cora?” Ralan asked. “I’m not sure. The air heated, but there were no visible flames. Still, the wound cauterized.”

  “Will Inona live?” Delbin demanded.

  “Would I be calmly kneeling here if my patient was still fighting death?” Lial scowled at him. “She’ll have a scar, and she’ll require a lot of rest to recover from the blood loss. I suspect she may need a mind-healer to help with the trauma of it. Gods know I would.”

  Ralan lifted a brow as Lial stood and approached. “You, admitting a weakness?”

  “I know precisely what happens to the body when the throat is slit,” Lial countered, for once not rising to the bait. “You have a good minute or two of terror at your inevitable death. And if the windpipe is also cut—”

  “I get it,” Ralan said quickly. “Just check on Cora.”

  As the light flashed in Lial’s hand, Ralan closed his eyes. His skin tingled from the power as his cousin swept his magic over Cora, concentrating on her head. Only when the magic faded and the light stopped crashing against his closed eyelids did Ralan open his eyes.

  “Well?”

  “She drained herself, and she is not pulling in more energy. She’ll stay like this until she can.”

  Ralan’s breathing went shallow as the importance of that hit. “Why can’t she connect to Moranaia?”

  Lial shrugged. “It’s part of her nature. Her body does not automatically draw from the world around her. There aren’t even physical channels in her mind to do so.”

  “What…” His lips turned down as he recalled something she’d said. “She told me once that her people bond to places and to types of energy. What do you know about Galarens?”

  “So she is from Galare. I suspected as much.” Lial stared at him. Then he broke into laughter. “You found your soulbonded there? Maybe your father was onto something.”

  “Shut up, cousin.” Ralan was not about to admit that Cora was the same princess he’d refused so many centuries ago. Lial didn’t need more ammunition. “What can I do for her?”

  Lial pursed her lips. “If she can’t bond to the energy here? You’ll have to take her back.”

  Damn. Ralan’s arms tightened of their own volition. That was what he’d been afraid of.

  The low murmur of voices trickled through Cora’s mind, but none of the sounds solidified into words. She drifted, content to let the noise pass. Thoughts tried to form. Carelessly, she shoved them aside.

  After a time, other sensations seeped in. Her hands were cold. A low rumble sounded beneath her ear. She shifted, and soft fabric brushed her cheek. She fought to open her eyes, but she didn’t have the strength. When she tried to pull in power, she found nothing but void.

  At least for a moment.

  Just beyond her reach, she sensed a wealth of power. But she wasn’t linked to that. Closer, though, there was one smaller source. The warmth her body was curled against. Blindly, she pulled a little. Only a little.

  The murmurs solidified into words. “She will demand to go back anyway.”

  “Already running your bonded off, Ralan?”

  “After what happened with Kien, she’ll probably want the bond to be broken.” A pause in the rumble beneath her ear. “I don’t blame her.”

  She heard a soft snort. “Because your brother is insane? Surely she wouldn’t do something irrevocable over that.”

  “After what she learned…” His breath ruffled her hair. “Trust me.”

  “Looks like you’ll be causing another scandal, then. Prophecy or not, I can’t see you remaining the heir if your own bonded refuses you.”

  “I’ll deal with that when it comes.”

  Pain swirled through her as she fought to make sense of the conversation. What was wrong with Ralan? His worry and agony slammed into her chest, and she struggled to lift a hand against the ache. What was going on? Restlessly, she pulled in more energy.

  “Lial, I feel…”

  Cora’s eyes snapped open, and she tried to focus her blurry vision enough to see Ralan. He held a hand to his forehead. Why was he pale? She squeezed her eyes closed again as blue flashed around them.

  The other voice. “Miaran, she’s pulling from you. I guess it’s a similar link. But she’d better not pull too much or she’ll sap you before you can regenerate yourself.”

  In that moment, she wanted nothing more than to snuggle against him and let herself be. To bask in the warmth of their connection. But his words nudged at some memory just beyond reach. She couldn’t relax until she understood.

  “Slowly, Cora,” Ralan whispered, bending down until his lips could almost brush hers. “I’ll give you energy, but you have to let me do it slowly. Close your eyes and rest.”

  She tried, but that sense of uneasiness wouldn’t let her. As power trickled in, drop by drop, Cora stared into his eyes. Grief. She’d seen his gaze full of confidence, arrogance, worry, passion—even fear. But this heavy sadness was new. Her hand drifted up to his cheek, and her fingers brushed his skin.

  It did nothing to ease the pain she saw.

  Strength began to return to her limbs, but memories flickered through her mind, too. Cora’s breath hitched as she remembered the search for Maddy. The climb up the mountain. The tense confrontation in the cavern. Healing Inona. Stumbling from the cave and down the mountain before passing out in the car. She must have burned herself out.

  Then what she’d learned about Ralan clicked with the words she’d just overheard. They were bonded, but he’d betrayed her before they ever met. He’d rejected her, sight unseen. Because of his refusal, her father had lost the throne, and she had fled her very home. She’d bonded with the very source of her life’s greatest pain.

  Her hand fell away from his face.

  Ralan’s eyelids lowered, shuttering his gaze, and he straightened. But although he surely sensed her anger and her turmoil, he continued to send her energy. Her chest constricted with the pain of it all. He expected her to sever their bond, but he was taking care of her. Could she do it? Divine, she should. He’d ruined her life. And
based on his reaction in the cave, he was in love with a dead woman.

  “Enough, Ralan,” that other voice snapped.

  Cora turned her head enough to see the source. A scowling male elf stood a few paces away. His auburn hair clashed oddly against his rust-colored tunic, the contrast far from soothing to her dazed eyes. She blinked and peered at him again. He looked vaguely familiar, but she didn’t think they’d met.

  “Who are you?” she whispered.

  “The healer. Lial.”

  His expression was angrier than any healer she’d ever seen, but she nodded. “Okay.”

  “Make him stop before he drains himself dry.”

  She tipped her face back to Ralan. “Stop.”

  His wry smile didn’t reach his eyes. “I can do more. I used to channel energy to Eri when we lived on Earth. Because of the energy poisoning.”

  Cora shoved against him as more power poured through. She knew exactly why he was doing this. Guilt. But even as she struggled to get out of his lap, he continued. His pale, closed face told her well enough of his resolve. Gathering her strength, she pushed herself to her feet.

  “See? It’s enough for now.”

  “It will never be—”

  “Ralan!” Lial shouted, stepping close to the prince. “I will render you unconscious where you sit if you do not stop this now.”

  Ralan’s eyes narrowed. “You may try to breach my shields, cousin, but you will not succeed.”

  Cora pushed her shoulders back and prepared to bluff. She hadn’t decided what to do, but he didn’t have to know that. “Stop sending energy, or I will have to sever our bond.”

  Not that she could, as far as she knew. When her magic was bound to a place, it was irrevocable. A person? She had no idea. He clearly didn’t either.

  The stream of energy cut off at once.

  Chapter 23

  A thousand icy needles danced through Ralan’s blood at Cora’s threat. Her magic had created their bond. Could she end it herself without the aid of a priest? He stopped the flow of energy, though the emotions that streamed from her were tinged with uncertainty. She could prevaricate with her words, but her soul hinted at another truth.