by Morgan Wylie
“Of course,” Kaeleigh said almost with a giggle. The things magic could do that she hadn’t thought of made her feel light and full of possibilities. “Will I be able to learn to do things like that...with magic, I mean?”
“Of course. It is in your blood. Hunter was the one who instructed me on how to accomplish it. You just have to find it, within yourself.” He gently led her back to the table by her elbow. “Come, let us eat.”
They ate in silence for a short time, sating the ravenous appetites they had gained from training. Kaeleigh and her friends were spread out amongst the Ehsmia and it made her smile to see everyone getting along, and to find some peace even if for a short time. They were safe. They were taken care of, and they were finally getting some answers.
“Elder Arileas? Would you mind updating me as to what has transpired in Adettlyn?” Aidón asked.
After swallowing a bite of his food, Arileas nodded at Aidón. “Yes, and may I say it is a pleasure to see you again, Lord Aidón.” Arileas inclined his head to the Elf, who had once been titled as king-in-fact for a short time of Adettlyn. “I am most happy to see that you are well again and once more fully yourself.”
“As well as I, sir, thanks to my lovely grandniece, Kaeleighnna, and her friends.” Aidón inclined his head to them all. Kaeleigh blushed slightly at the compliment but turned back to her food. “I remained in that place of darkness for too long.” Sadness passed through his eyes, but he did not dwell there. Instead he looked to the Elder for news of the present and hopefully a glimpse of the future.
“Adettlyn has been under the rule of Syén—this, you knew. What he does not yet realize, or perhaps he does, is that he is also under the rule of Maleina of Elnye. She has plans that are vast and unknown.” Arileas suddenly looked aged as he thought. The lines around his eyes deepened and the shadows behind his eyes darkened. “She has managed to gather not only her own fleet of Ferrishyn to bend to her will, but she has also created allegiance within each of the territories except Ehsmia, as she cannot find it to this day much to her diligent seekers’ attempts. She is in league with the darkness to an unsettling depth: the Droch-Shúil, the Ónarach—as you saw—and I fear that she is somehow even working with forces within the realm of Exhile.”
Gasps came from around the table. Halister’s face paled. He looked as if he would fall over. Chel, next to him, reached over and squeezed his arm, which he did not even acknowledge. No wink, no witty response, nothing. It struck fear in Kaeleigh as she watched the revelations hit him in ways the rest of them had no way of understanding.
“It is a blind spot in my sight. That is one reason I am believing she could be in league with Exhile... that and the Orchids are not in the In-between awaiting their rebirth as they should be.” He sighed deeply.
“How do you know that, sir?” Kaeleigh’s voice was small.
“I have a gift to communicate with those in the In-between. It is not something that is widely known,” he said, acknowledging the wide eyes from even some of his own people. “There is a great disruption in the natural order of things. If the Orchids do not make their rebirth or are unable, Alandria may cease to exist. It was created by their joint energy. If their energy is not returned to it, I fear for the stability of our world.” Tears formed in the old man’s eyes. He looked directly to Kaeleigh. “Do you know... if that is where they are?”
Kaeleigh took a deep breath. Panic started to bubble in her chest. Do I know? She looked around the table, then paused at Daegan’s eyes intently searching hers. It was unsettling, but not in a bad way; in fact, she felt a certainty there. It gave her peace and she suddenly remembered the dreams and visions she had over the last many years, well most of her life. Another deep breath. She nodded.
“I have seen them. At least, I think I have.” Pausing, she took another breath and continued at Arileas’s encouraging nod. “I have had dreams and I sometimes get visions. I have seen my mother. I’ve seen others with her. They seem trapped, unable to leave where they are. It is always the same, desolate, dark, and empty. Not like this.” She gestured toward the light and warm atmosphere within the expansive room they were presently in. “It’s dark, dangerous, and lonely... and there is someone else. Someone that is keeping them there. I can’t ever see who it is, but their presence is heavy, oppressive, and cold.” Kaeleigh didn’t even realize that she was shedding tears of gold as she spoke. She could feel the despair and the anguish that she had woken up feeling for so many years. Beginning to be able to vocalize what she had felt, and realizing that there was actually a reason for it, lifted a weight she had carried for most her life.
Arileas wore a slight look of shock upon his face. The news was not what he had expected. “Are you sure? They are all together?” He barely waited for her nod before he stood up from his seat and began to pace in front of the window. “How? How did she accomplish that? Why can I not see them? This is disturbing. The ramifications are...” He paused then shouted, “They are not to be there!” A flash of energy mixed with anger jolted everyone in the room.
“Sir? Where are they?” Kaeleigh interrupted his burst timidly.
He turned toward her and looked to them all with a grave expression. “Exhile. They are trapped in Exhile.” A pin could drop and no one would hear it in the deafening silence of the room. The air was thick and all breathing ceased. Time stood still if for only but a moment. Then chaos ensued. Everyone began talking at once, theorizing hypotheses of “how” and “why,” devising plans of what could be done. Daegan stood, causing everyone around him to suddenly still at the sight of him and the weight of the calming energy he was putting forth. He looked to Arileas. “I have heard them. They have spoken to me as you said before. I will go. Perhaps I can find a way to set them free. I am willing to do whatever is required.”
Arileas stared in return for longer than what was comfortable, not in challenge but more in examination. “That is the next step, yes, but not yet.” You must be set free to travel undetected into that realm. I must find a way to sever your ties to Maleina completely or it will all be for not. Arileas spoke into Daegan’s mind. Daegan nodded his understanding.
“I want to go too!” Kaeleigh declared confidently, standing and looking at Arileas.
“No!” Daegan said flatly. Kaeleigh almost buckled under a sudden force of pressure upon her shoulders. She placed her hands on the table, possibly so she would not succumb to it. It was powerful. It wanted her to relent. She refused and pushed back with her own energy as she raised her eyes, filled with determination but also anger that he would use his magic against her. Glaring at Daegan, she threw her energy at him and found a slice of satisfaction that he flinched under the spark of her magic that hit him.
The air crackled with the intensity of their energy. Arileas watched them both with intense study. Everyone else seemed unsure what to do, but couldn’t keep from watching.
Arileas interrupted the tension. “Yes, she will go. You will need her. You will need each other.” He paused. “Now, release it.” It was not a request. The air cleared remarkably fast and everyone took a deep breath. “Sorry,” Kaeleigh mumbled as she looked around briefly and took her seat.
“No,” Daegan said, looking at her but directing his words at the Elder. Then he turned and stormed out of the Great Hall.
Silence was present for several minutes.
“So he’s kind of scary intense,” Metrí muttered to no one in particular, but Chel responded, “Oh, girl, you have no idea.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Kaeleigh couldn’t believe how Daegan had stormed out of the Great Hall the night before. She had never felt his power used against her before. Well, she took that back, it wasn’t against her. She knew he would never hurt her. It was more him trying to dominate and tell her what to do by using great power. That was almost worse. It infuriated her. She couldn’t sleep. She had tossed and turned most of the night, agitated by the dictating ass he had been. But then, almost as quickly, worried about what the near future wa
s about to hold. Worried for Daegan, worried for the rest of her friends—old and new—and worried about what Maleina or whoever was behind all of it was doing to the Orchids.
In the morning light that filtered through the canopy of trees overhead, she took a deep breath and inhaled the soothing currents of energy sifting off the little river that flowed through Ehsmia. Kaeleigh sat under one of the large trees by the bank of the river. She watched the vibrant schools of fish as the sparkles within the water glimmered in her eyes. She watched as the smallest beings of Alandria flew by her and flitted about. There was a beauty here in this place that could not be described. It was more than what the human eye could behold, and the brain could process. It was mostly a feeling and an energy that could be absorbed into the very fibers of one’s soul. It merged with who you were and the magic you possessed. Kaeleigh found it refreshing, and all she wanted to do was bask in it for all eternity. But she couldn’t, so she would take the few moments of peace that were offered her.
Raising her chin up to the warmth of the sunlight, she closed her eyes and simply felt. It wasn’t long before she sensed a shadow creep over her face, her peace interrupted by a presence that was almost as familiar as her own. “Pull up a root. It’s quite comfortable.” She smiled, then finally squinted her eyes open as he sat next to her.
“I was looking for you,” Finn said quietly. “Are you all right?”
Kaeleigh gave a small smile and a nod to her friend. She had missed simply hanging out with him the way they used to back in her apartment in the mortal realm, but that was another life ago.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Just thinking. I needed some time to myself, ya know?”
“I figured, but others were wondering where you were, so I thought I’d check on you.” He took a look around the place they sat. “It really is something else here, isn’t it?”
Kaeleigh nodded. “Had you really never been here before?”
Finn shook his head. “Nope, I spent most my days in Adettlyn, serving the king—your grandfather—or out on missions...” Finn looked sad for a moment.
Kaeleigh looked over at her friend. “I’m so sorry, Finn, I forgot that you worked closely with him, too.”
Finn nodded. “I spent a lot of time on errands for him and trying to stay undercover.” He continued speaking more honestly than he ever had with Kae about his past. “A lot was happening in Alandria at that time, much as it is now, but it was more underground and concealed than it is now. Things are now coming into the light.” Finn picked some grass blades and began to split them one by one. He squinted up into the light and looked at the walls within Ehsmia. “Do you think that’s where most of them live?” he said, nodding his head in the direction of the little openings in perfect lines that ran up the sides of the walls surrounding the entire entry of Ehsmia.
“Yeah, I think so.” She also looked up in their direction. “I never see anyone in them though. Maybe there aren’t actually that many of them. It’s very mysterious,” she said with a small smile. “Are you okay, Finn? Are we okay? I haven’t really gotten a chance to talk to you since”—she paused—“since the other day.”
He smirked, hiding emotion. He looked away and then back at Kaeleigh. “I’ll be fine, Kae. I’ve done many things with my life. Some good and some I deeply regret. I’m sorry about what happened at the training hall. And I know I said it before, but I can’t tell you how sorry I am about not being honest with you about who I was, who you were, that you had a grandfather... all of it.” Finn’s voice cracked and he looked down at the blades of grass in his hands.
Kaeleigh grabbed his hand and squeezed. “I know you are. We can’t change that now, but I do forgive you. You are one of my best friends, Finn.” Kaeleigh breathed in the soothing air around her. “I know things won’t be the same as they were... probably ever again, but know that you will always have a piece of my heart and a place in my life.” She started to pull her hand away, not wanting to give him more than a you-are-just-my-friend hand hold and confuse the situation again. She knew now, for certain, he was not the right path for her. She hoped he felt the same way, but when he refused to let her hand go, she wasn’t sure.
Finn moved to where he was directly in front of her so she would have to look him in the eyes. “Kae, listen to me. It was unfair of me how I made you feel. I realize now, I feel for you what you felt for me all along. I was too close to remember why I was there and what I was supposed to be focusing on. I had just been sent from my home and I was angry.” He looked out to the water below them, then back up at her with a twinkle in his eyes that she had seen there before. She wasn’t sure where he was going with his next words, but she liked seeing the sparkle of hope in his eyes. There had been too much despair and pain for too long. Finn started once again. “Did you know before I left to be your guardian, one of my secret missions was to seek out and gather the Twined with Ella? It was a long time ago. I forgot how much I loved finding them and teaching them about who they could be.”
“Oh, Finn...” Kaeleigh started in with a guilty voice before he stopped her.
“No, Kae, I am not telling you that to make you feel bad. I wouldn’t be part of who I am today and you wouldn’t be a part of me had I not gone to the mortal realm with you. I do not regret any of my time with you. I deserved to have been banished, but I did miss the Twined and...” He paused with a sheepish look on his face that Kaeleigh for sure had never seen.
“Ella.” Realization had dawned on Kaeleigh as he was talking. “Do you love her?” No jealousy, no regret at letting him go, simply curious as his friend.
Finn looked out, then back to Kaeleigh with a small smile on his face. He nodded.
“Does she know?”
“She did once upon a time, but I think she is hesitant because she knows my position with you and I’m sure she could sense my guilt and misplaced affection.” Finn picked at the grass once more.
“She needs to know, Finn! I can tell her we are only friends.”
“No, I will tell her when the time is right. I need to prove myself to her, to the Twined cause once more.” Finn paused with a brief look of sadness and purpose mixed together. “I don’t know if I will ever feel at home or feel the pull to Alandria as I once did. It saddens me, but it also makes me feel alive when I think of working at the camp in Tylínyth again. Ella has really done an amazing job there in my absence. I missed her.”
Kaeleigh squeezed his hand before he let go. “I’m glad you told me all that. Thank you.”
“No, Kaeleigh, thank you. Thank you for everything. For loving me and letting me be a part of your life. I will always, always be there for you when you need me to be. I have a feeling the Twined will be needed and in your service in the near future.”
“It sounds like you are saying goodbye, Finn,” she said with a curious and concerned voice.
“Not yet. But I feel I will be going a separate way soon. There is much training to do, and you really don’t need me for that part. Not anymore.” There was a temporary silence as they both knew what he said was true.
“So, last night was fun,” Finn said with a way too big of a smile.
“Ugh, don’t remind me.”
“Really though, Kae, your power has grown considerably since you found it. You are one powerful girl,” he said with a wink.
A wink! “Did you just wink at me? Where is my gloomy, moody friend, Finn?” Kaeleigh laughed.
Finn ruffled her hair and laughed back. “I don’t know what you are talking about.”
“What are you talking about?” Out of nowhere, Chel came up behind them. “I have been looking all over for you guys.” She put her hand on a hip, then stalked toward them with a frown on her face. “Here you are having a little heart-to-heart or whatever and I am wandering around by my lonesome to find you!” Slightly put out, she plopped down next to them and looked at each of them. “What’s going on here? Finn smiled at me,” she said to Kaeleigh as she looked back and forth between each of them. To whic
h Kaeleigh and Finn simply laughed.
“What’s up, grumpy pants?” Kaeleigh asked Chel.
“I’m worried about Halister,” she said bluntly. “He went for a ‘walk’ and I haven’t been able to find him either. He seemed to be in a real bad way though. He is pretty beat up with all the new intel on his mom’s betrayal. I mean wouldn’t you be?” She was practically defending him, but to whom?
Kaeleigh placed her hand on Chel’s. “Yes, I would be too. Come on, let’s see if we can find him. Maybe Daegan can do some of his ‘connection voodoo’ stuff and find him.” Chel looked at Kaeleigh funny, but let it go and helped each other up. Finn walked with them for a bit, but Kaeleigh spotted Ella out of the corner of her eye watching them, and apparently so did Finn. He looked to Kaeleigh, who smiled.
“I’ll catch up with you guys a bit later.” Finn put his hands in his pockets and turned the other direction toward an opening in the wall. “Oh, and Chel?” He looked back at the girls. “You could find people faster if you learned to use your nose.” He turned and jogged over to where the lovely white-haired Ehsmia Faerie stood.
Chel scrunched her face up, “We could’ve used his help, but whatever.” She rolled her eyes. “Use my nose!” she grumbled sarcastically under her breath.
Kaeleigh grabbed her arm within her own. “Chel, he will be all right. We’ll find him.”
Almost to the other side of the entry into Ehsmia, where they first entered, Kaeleigh could tell Chel was not only worried, but starting to get pissed too. Laying her hand on Chel’s arm, she tried to give her friend comfort.
“We’ll find him, Chel. I’m not concerned about that, but I am a little confused at your reaction. What’s up? Do you like him?”
Chel crossed her arms in defiance and turned up her nose. “I am simply a concerned citizen. Sure, I like him, who wouldn’t—have you met him?”
Kaeleigh simply leveled a knowing look at her friend and crossed her own arms waiting for her friend to spill it. She would wait quite a while if she had to. This was the most time they’d had to themselves in a long time.