Adrah reached for the silky, white cloth and pulled it away, revealing a clear orb settled against the stone pedestal. Within the orb, swirls of color mingled and danced with barely-contained energy. It was as if by uncovering it, Adrah had awakened it. Selena took a step forward, entranced by the swirling lights.
“This is the Eye of Goldun,” Adrah said as she stepped forward as well, placing her hands on either side of the Eye. “For millennia I have watched the past, present and future through it and because I wish it, you shall see what I see within it. What you will see is the future of our land should you depart, or if our mission should fail.”
Before Selena could respond, a flash of white light filled her eyes and the colors at the center of the orb parted to reveal the images inside. Fire swirled and raged as the sounds of clashing metal filled her ears. Creatures fought to the death before her eyes, Centaurs battled Minotaurs, Elves and Fae battled Witches and Sorcerers. Blood splattered across once green fields, now gone dry and brown. Fire rained from the sky and enveloped the battlefield into a raging inferno, and a crumbling castle fell to pieces in large chunks behind the fighters, raining slabs of stone down along with balls of fire.
The most heartbreaking image brought tears to Selena’s eyes. Wolves tore at each other, and even though Selena didn’t know them she instinctively knew that these animals were of the same packs and families, torn asunder by Eranna’s schemes. Brother fought brother in flashes of sharp teeth and claws, ripping out throats and entrails with a single swipe or bite. On one side the eyes glowed red, on the other, various shades hinting at the humanity of the shifters still inside. Selena’s heart squeezed as she beheld the white and gray wolf with the glowing blue eyes.
He charged to the front of the pack, a nearly identical, larger wolf at his side—the Alpha male, Titus’ father. The two were magnificent in battle, taking down Eranna’s possessed wolves along with Centaurs and other unsightly creatures. A sudden puff of black smoke brought the battle to a halt as a woman that could only be Queen Eranna rose up out of the mist.
All around her grew still as she stepped down from her chariot of ice, a double-edged spear gripped in one pale hand. On her side of the battlefield, her red-eyed followers roared and leaped gleefully, spittle rolling from their mouths and their expressions dazed as if they were all drunk from power. Silence swept over the field as a pounding roar filled Selena’s ears, her eyes zeroing in on the wolf that rose up from the ranks of the side of good to challenge her. Titus was beautiful, proud, and formidable as he leapt into the air, soaring with all four paws off the ground toward the beautiful yet horrendous Eranna. Pain lanced through Selena, as with a flick of her spear, Titus was impaled. Selena fell to her knees, covering her ears and closing her eyes against the sound of howling wolves and the sight of gore and blood that stayed with her even as she lost sight of the Eye.
Swiftly, Adrah covered the eye with the cloth once more, casting them back into darkness except for her ethereal glow. She slowly rounded the pedestal and stood over Selena, who was cowering against the wall, shivering against the cold stones and crying for Titus of the future. Watching someone die, even in a vision, was not something she’d been prepared for.
Selena glared up at Adrah accusingly, tears spilling over her eyelids and splashing her cheeks.
“Why did you show me that?”
Adrah offered Selena her hand, but she refused, choosing to stand on her own. Adrah sighed.
“That is the fate of Fallada as it is now set by destiny,” Adrah said. “However, I have seen an alternate destiny, one that hinges completely on the fulfillment of the prophecy. The very same prophecy that begins with you, Eladria.”
Selena felt rebellion welling up in her at the mention of her birth name. Her hands curled into fists at her sides. “I don’t like being manipulated into doing things I don’t want to do.”
Adrah’s tone was gentle, as were her eyes, which had now gone soft green tinged with silver. “My dear, I have the power to bend others to my will on a whim, yet I am offering you a choice. Should you wish it, I would put you back on board The Adrah tonight and send you home.”
“Why? Your world is in trouble and you need me.” Selena lowered her gaze and felt her fingernails digging painfully into her palms. “Titus needs me.”
Adrah’s eyes widened and she smirked knowingly. “Without you, he will take it upon himself to lead the rebellion against Eranna. Soon, she will be too powerful to be stopped without the lost daughters of Fallada. We need your combined powers to destroy her. Nothing else will do.”
“I do not have any great power!” Selena exclaimed. “Everyone keeps talking about how powerful I am, but all that I can do is run really fast. What am I supposed to do if Eranna comes after me?”
Adrah’s smirk was secretive and knowing this time. “I think that it is past time that you met your father.”
~*~
Chapter Ten
Selena tore her eyes away from the looming, dense, rock formation that was Goldun, as it grew smaller and smaller in the distance. From her perch on the back of a soaring owl, she felt as if she could see just about every corner of Fallada. The thick arms of the warrior Fae, Rothatin, were holding the reigns of the owl on either side of her. And while they offered security, they offered none of the warmth she felt when being held by Titus. Her place in front of Rothatin was necessary, though, as neither she nor Titus knew the first thing about guiding an owl.
The eagle bearing Titus and another warrior Fae swooped close to her and Rothatin’s owl, close enough for her to see Titus’ warm smile and expression of sympathy. Selena lowered her gaze. She’d been hoping he wouldn’t be able to tell that she’d cried her eyes out all night, but Titus was entirely too perceptive for that. He reached out for her hand and she placed her palm in his. The two warrior Fae exchanged glances and nodded, keeping their birds close enough so that they could talk.
“You did the right thing,” Titus said gently. “It wasn’t safe for them to continue on with us.”
Selena knew that he was right, but that didn’t make her feel any better about having sent Zoe and Rose back home that morning. Yet, looking at Titus now only reminded her of what Adrah had shown her within the Eye of Goldun. It reminded her of his fate if she were to leave like she wanted to. That, coupled with the long talk she’d had with Rose the night before, had sealed the deal. Her grandmother’s words stuck with her now, hours later.
“I didn’t see much of you at the party, sweet pea.”
Selena looked up from where she sat on an ornate, silver, cushioned stool in front of a low vanity and mirror, brushing her tangled hair. She felt a smile curling at her lips as pixie dust rained down onto the table and into her lap. Even after the terrible things she’d seen within the Eye, Titus’ kiss remained on her lips, tingling with remembrance.
Rose chuckled. “Oh, so that’s where you’ve been. I should have known.”
“It wasn’t like that, Gram.”
Rose shook her head and sat on the edge of Selena’s bed. “Of course it is. Just because I’m old doesn’t mean I can’t remember the good ol’ days when Jeb McClendon and I used to park his Chevy at Lookout Point and neck.”
Selena swiveled on her stool and turned to face Rose. “Okay, first, no one calls it necking anymore. Second … Jeb McCendon? Ew! And third, is there even a place in Twin Oaks called Lookout Point?”
“I will have you know that Jeb was the quarterback of the football team and best looking guy in school in his day. And if there was a place in Twin Oaks called Lookout Point, I sure as shootin’ wouldn’t tell you where it is.”
Selena shrugged. “Well in Goldun they call it Pixie Point and it’s magical.”
Rose’s face was suddenly serious. “Making out with that cute Werewolf boy isn’t the only thing that happened, is it? I saw you coming back to the party with Queen Adrah. Something is wrong.”
Selena frowned. “Gram, how do you do that?”
Rose sh
rugged. “Years of practice. Besides, I raised you! I know you inside and out and I definitely know when something is bothering you.”
“It’s this whole princess of a nation thing. And the long lost parents thing. And the prophecy thing. So really, it’s everything.”
“Feeling a little uncertain, huh?”
“Uncertain is an understatement. I’m downright scared, Gram. I mean, these people expect me to fight and I don’t know the first thing about fighting. All I know is running, and as far as I know running away never helped anyone.”
“Honey, you’ve just solved your own problem.”
“What do you mean?”
“Think about what you just said. ‘As far as I know, running away never helped anyone’. If you get back on that ship and let those Grimm fellas take you home, that’s exactly what you’ll be doing.”
Selena stood, too restless to remain sitting. Her feet itched to move and she paced to keep the urge to run at bay.
“I don’t understand. You want me to stay here with these people; lead them in their battle? Gram, that means I can’t go home with you. Maybe I never will.”
Rose nodded. “I know. I am prepared for that.”
Her voice was sure, but Selena detected the sadness in her eyes. It glistened in the form of tears.
“I can’t leave you, Gram. You’re all I have in the world.”
Rose shook her head. “No. You have a mother and a father who lost you tragically. They didn’t abandon you, Selena, you were stolen from them. Seventeen years later they now have a chance to see you, to know that you’re all right. As a mother who has lost a child, I know exactly how they must be feeling. I could never take that hope away from them and be so selfish as to ask you to come back with me. You belong here, Selena.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because for years I’ve watched you struggle to fit in with the other kids. I’ve watched you try to deal with being different and I could see that you felt like less than the rest of them. Granted, I didn’t know why you were so different until a few days ago, but still. You can be yourself here, Selena. You can reach your full potential. You say that you don’t know how to fight, but I wonder if maybe you’re wrong about that. How could you know when you’ve never had the chance to learn?”
“Adrah thinks that I should travel to Damu and meet my father. She thinks that the journey will change me somehow.”
Rose nodded. “I agree with Adrah.”
“You can’t go with me, Gram, you or Zoe. It’s too dangerous.”
Rose stood and wrapped Selena in her arms, transporting Selena back to the days when she was a kid with pigtails and her head only came up to her grandmother’s waist. Now, her chin rested on Rose’s shoulder.
“I love you, Gram.”
“I love you, too—” Rose pulled away and stared up at Selena with tear filled eyes “—Eladria.”
The memory of the conversation and the resulting drop-off of Zoe and Rose almost brought tears to Selena’s eyes again. She choked them back and tried to focus on the positives. Her grandmother and best friend were now safely on their way back to Earth; Jake and Wil had seen to that. Their ship departed from Goldun first thing that morning, after Selena had taken the time to explain to them, Zoe, and Adrah that she had decided to stay.
“If there’s going to be some kind of Werewolf wedding, I want an invitation,” Zoe had said jokingly before boarding the Grimm brothers’ flying steamship.
Selena shook her head and laughed. “You are seriously twisted.”
Zoe shrugged. “Someone’s gotta keep things interesting in Twin Oaks.”
Her friend was suddenly serious as she leaned in to grasp Selena in a tight hug. “It won’t be the same without you.”
Selena had hugged Zoe back and tried not to cry. She’d already spent hours the night before mourning the loss of the familiar.
“No, but if Adrah is right, neither will this place and neither will Titus.”
Zoe pulled away and swiped tears away with the back of her hand before attempting a smile. “Oh, the things we do for boys.”
Selena had glanced over her shoulder to where Titus stood, leaning against a tree and watching the exchange. She shivered and looked away quickly at the all too perceptive gleam in his eyes.
No, Titus was definitely not a boy. His talk of mates and destiny scared the crap out of her, while thrilling her at the same time. She wasn’t sure what it all meant just yet, but if staying in Fallada meant more kisses with Titus under the Pixie tree, then maybe it wouldn’t all be as terrifying as she thought.
“There’s a lot more at stake here,” she answered, even knowing that Titus had been the main reason she stayed.
Zoe nodded. “I know. Give ‘em hell, Selena.”
And just like that, they were gone; on board the steamship and streaking across the morning sky. For Zoe and Rose it was the journey home. For the gray and wrinkled Brothers Grimm it was a double assignment. The Eye of Goldun had possibly located another one of Fallada’s missing princesses. They were hoping to return with her. Selena had tried her best to ignore the smug expression on Wil’s face as he wished her good luck. Darn him, he had known all along that she would choose to stay!
“Princess.”
Rothatin’s deep voice intruded upon her thoughts.
“We are nearing Damu.”
All thoughts of flying ships and smug German writers disappeared as Selena turned toward the horizon in front of them. The gasp that escaped her throat gave voice to her awe at the beauty that was the desert of Damu.
The light of the sun seemed to take on several colors at once, adding to Selena’s amazement over Fallada’s vibrant hues. The sky was a stunning mix of pink, wispy cloud against a blue backdrop. Sand glittered like gold as far as the eye could see, and sloping dunes dotted the horizon beyond. The gleaming city sat miles away, its curved rooftops reminding her of pictures she’d seen of India. The largest building had to be a royal palace, she decided, as her eyes fixed on the towering, red domed rooftops. They matched the ruby dangling from the chain around her neck. Setting eyes on the building caused something to resonate within her. It expanded outward from her chest until she was vibrating with it. Her gaze remained fixed there as the Fae landed their birds right on the line where the green grass ended and the golden sand began. Selena frowned as Rothatin dismounted and offered her his hand.
“Why are we landing here?” Selena asked as she reluctantly reached for Rothatin’s hand.
“The heat of Damu is too much for them without the protection of adequate cloud cover,” Rothatin answered, stroking the feathers of his owl affectionately. “They will return to Goldun and we will continue on foot.”
Selena eyed the city in the distance and sighed. It would take a full day, maybe more, to reach it. Titus hopped down from his eagle and the rest of their party—twelve warrior Fae in all—followed suit.
“You know, if you guys hadn’t created that wall, Fallada would probably have cars,” Selena grumbled.
Rothatin shot her a glance that told Selena he was not amused. Selena shrugged.
“Zoe would have laughed.”
Titus came up beside her and threaded his fingers through hers.
I thought it was funny.
Selena leapt nearly a mile in the air at the sound of Titus’ voice. He was smirking at her, his blue eyes twinkling mischievously. His lips hadn’t moved and Selena was pretty sure that voice had been in her head.
“Did you just do what I think you did?”
Titus nodded. His voice intruded again.
Yes.
“Do all Werewolves have the power to talk to people inside their minds?”
No. It is a psychic bond shared by Were-males with their mates.
Selena’s heart hammered into double time as the weight of what Titus just said settled in. Her hand trembled in his.
“I don’t understand.”
When a male Werewolf comes in contact with his tr
ue mate, the bond is almost instant. Over time, it grows stronger, until the two are able to communicate telepathically. As it grows stronger, emotions can even be shared.
Selena swallowed past the lump in her throat and resisted the impulse to run screaming into the hills.
“So, you’re saying that I have this ability, too?”
Titus smiled and squeezed her hand. He pulled her closer and wrapped his free arm around her waist.
“You have to concentrate,” he said out loud. “After a while it will become like second nature to you, but at first you will have to think about it. Reach out toward me with your mind and form your thoughts. Project them at me … sort of like throwing a ball to someone. You throw it, my mind catches it.”
Selena stared up into Titus’ sapphire gaze, locked in by the intensity of his stare. He looked back at her, his arm tight around her as he waited.
Like this?
Selena’s voice echoed between them, echoing from the walls of her mind as if she’d spoken aloud. She could tell by Titus’ smile that he’d heard it, too.
You did it. You’re a fast learner, Selena.
This is unreal. I don’t know how I feel about all of this.
I know. It’s hard for you right now with so much going on. Soon you’ll be meeting your parents and that is what’s important right now.
This feeling that I have when I’m with you … that seems pretty important, too.
Titus smiled as he drew in closer, resting his forehead against hers. It is.
Daughter of the Red Dawn (The Lost Kingdom of Fallada) Page 12