by Rae Brooks
The brown eyes widened, filled with terror as they witnessed the truth behind Calis’s fury. He was shrinking away, and his anger seemed to vanish behind a wall of uncertainty. “Enough,” Kilik said gently, and he grabbed Calis’s arm. With a quick gesture, he eased the boy and Calis apart. He did it so gracefully that Calis wondered if he hadn’t done it himself for a moment. “Enough now.”
The boy stood away, and his eyes were still wide with alarm. Calis let out a breath, and he glared away from the ignorant child before him. This was a child—more of a child than he knew. How could anyone say those things? Then again, an objective person would naturally see Calis as a threat to Kilik. This boy had only been wanting to protect the very thing that Calis wanted so badly to.
“My apologies…” Calis managed.
“I don’t… understand.” The boy was dismayed.
“Go,” Kilik said harshly.
The boy squirmed under Kilik’s anger. He seemed so out of place, as though all of the momentum with which he’d been driving himself had been taken out of him. Then, Calis realized that they had been. The boy had expected to enlighten Kilik, not be chastised by him. For some reason, that made Calis smile.
“I just…” the boy tried again.
“Now,” Kilik repeated, and this time his voice was firmer. He seemed so much more authoritative than usual. Calis had every desire to push Kilik back against the nearest stall and kiss him until those beautiful blue eyes couldn’t see straight. “Aelic.”
That was the boy’s name. Calis hadn’t remembered it until Kilik spoke it. Aelic said nothing else, walking, or really staggering, off. “Well, that was fun.”
“Apologies, Calis. I… that was…”
Calis laughed, and then he pulled Kilik to him and kissed him again. “I thought it was rather charming the way you defended me, actually. It wasn’t the kid’s fault, either. It can’t possibly look good that I’m—well—who I am. Just, please don’t believe that I’d hurt you.”
Kilik nodded his head slowly, and then he glanced towards Juliet’s house. “I know you wouldn’t, Calis. I trust you.”
The words sounded sincere enough, though Kilik’s eyes were flickering with unspoken emotion. Unfortunately, as Calis was now even more behind than he had been when they had originally returned—he knew he had to hurry. “Thank you, Kilik. I just wish rumors of my engagement weren’t spreading so quickly. How did that boy know?”
“I’m going to find out,” Kilik said flatly. “I need to speak with him after that. Promise me you’ll be careful if you leave the city?”
“Always, love.” He kissed Kilik’s lips one more time—lingering for a few seconds longer than necessary—and then pulled back, touching Kilik’s cheek gently. “I’ll see you soon.”
“See you,” Kilik answered, sounding a little mesmerized by the kiss. Then, Calis headed to retrieve Lee as Kilik headed off towards what Calis supposed was the inn.
“What the hero had done was defy the Magisters, and to make them look upon themselves with scrutiny was the hardest task of all.”
-A Hero’s Peace v.i
Chapter xxxiv
Aela Lassau
Panic. Panic was coursing through every part of her—every vein inside of her as she opened the door to their room. Her legs were trembling, and she hoped very much that Leif had made it back to the room before her. He’d had to take a different route, as his clothes were not worth finding again. He would have had to sneak back.
Fortunately, though, as she opened the door, he was standing there. He was pulling on a white shirt, obviously having just arrived. His eyes softened when he saw her. Surely, he could see the panic on her face. Not only was her brother the one spoken of in the book—but he was seeing the engaged, crown prince of Telandus. What was worse, Taeru knew all of it. Well, she doubted Calis knew who Taeru was. Perhaps her brother had a reason—though she had always been able to see into Taeru’s eyes. And from what she saw, he was infatuated—if not in love—with the prince.
But she hadn’t had the full information, and she knew that charging up to both of them while they appeared to be in the middle of an intimate moment was a bad idea. Her lips quivered, and she took a few unsteady breaths. Taeru had been furious with her, and the way the Telandan prince had reacted to her saying he wanted to hurt Taeru had been—well—terrifying. But somehow, there had been a comfort in it. He had reacted so violently only to the idea of causing harm to Taeru. Surely, there was something to be said for that.
No, she wouldn’t let herself succumb to the same charm that her brother likely had. There she went again, making assumptions. She knew nothing. Taeru had always told her to check her facts before she went about spewing insults, and even then, to state the reason for them before. Well, that was far too logical. She was not the overly nice person that her brother was.
Why was he with the prince of Telandus? Why was he with someone who was engaged? What did they intend to do? But Calis had clearly been up front, where Taeru had probably not been. She let out a breath.
Leif finally spoke, breaking her train of thought. “I was wondering where you were. You went and found him, didn’t you? I told you not to.” His voice was soft, but firm. Just like Taeru had been. He wasn’t angry, but he was forceful.
Oh, why was Leif so similar to her stupid brother? Why was her brother doing all these things that didn’t make sense? Why did it have to be her brother about which the book was written? “I had to. I wanted him to know. I didn’t want him to get hurt. I, ah… I’m glad you made it back.”
Leif crossed his arms, and his eyebrows furrowed as he took a step towards her. He had managed to get fully clothed before she’d walked in, at least. “What happened?” Leif asked with a very patient tone.
“He knew,” she choked. “He knew everything. Then, I tried to accuse the bloody prince of… yes,” she responded to the reprimanding look, “I know it was a bad idea! But I wanted to make an impression. And he lost it—I’d called him all these names, but only when I said that he wanted to hurt my brother did he get angry with me. Until then, he just looked… amused.” She shook her head at the memory. He had been so calm. Nothing like the Tsrali family she’d heard about at all.
“Well, if you hadn’t reacted so quickly—you may have heard him. He was vying for our side. He was trying to talk his father out of the war. We have the information we need now. We could report to Veyron and tell him that everything is fine, now, you know? Of course, I suppose—we can’t, not really. Since your brother is here.” Leif shook his head, as if he’d gotten thoroughly distracted. “The prince was struck for arguing against Lavus. Why were you so determined that he was bad? He very clearly had little interest in the woman. You just—you reacted like a complete lunatic!”
“I was worried,” she whimpered. “Leif, you don’t understand. That book that I mentioned? The one that I said had disappeared. It hasn’t disappeared, oh—oh, you won’t believe me if I just tell you. I need to show you the book—I… something awful is happening, Leif. And I know Taeru is in the middle of it.”
Leif stepped forward and grabbed her wrists. His eyes blazed with concern as he looked her over. He could be so protective when he wanted to be—in fact, he had been rather protective for the duration of their journey. “Aela,” he said, and she nearly—well—swooned upon hearing her name. Swooning? This wasn’t good. “I trust you. I know that you see something happening here, and honestly, I can feel it too. But, you have to calm down. Stop stressing so much. Taeru is not a fool. Whatever he has with the prince is his own, for whatever reason. Calis Tsrali is clearly no Lavus Tsrali. Stop this. You’ll push yourself to the breaking point. I’ve done an awful job at protecting you, Magisters forsake me, I shouldn’t have let you come.”
“No,” she whined. She tried very hard not to whine, but her voice could be described as no other way in that moment but petulant. “No, I want to be here. If I wasn’t here, then I would be back home—worrying nonstop about you, Leif.
”
Leif let out a low laugh, and the sound had strange sensations running all through Aela’s body. She closed her eyes, and she let out a breath. “Still, it was my responsibility to keep you safe. I let you come because the idea of being…” He gritted his teeth, throwing his head to the side as though she’d hit him.
“Leif… I…” She thought of saying it. She had been fighting her feelings for him this entire time, and now they felt like the most obvious things in the world. Leif was all she had, and she’d developed feelings much stronger than she’d meant for him. She ought to tell him. For fear of anything happening to either of them. “You know… I should probably…”
Her breathing grew unsteady, just as his did, as they stared at one another. Somehow, they had ended up back in the position in which they had been at the castle. Only, this time they were there of their own design, and Leif’s fingers were caressing her back, rather than holding it. She moved her hand upwards to touch his cheek, biting down on her lip as her heart pounded a little faster. She wanted this—oh, she wanted this.
Would it really hurt anything? They were in their room, and what they did here was not going to affect anyone. People might find it odd that two male travelers were—well, it didn’t matter. She wanted Leif, and she wanted him badly. Finally, he bent his head, and she could nearly feel his lips.
Then, the door swung open, and the sound of a thousand explosive barrels rang in her ears. Leif and she leapt away from one another as if they were on fire. Then, her eyes moved to the door to find her brother. “Lovely,” he snarled. “Perhaps I should hurl a thousand nasty insults at him, and then we will be even.” Taeru’s eyes were on Leif for only a moment, before they retreated to Aela—with much fire in them. “What in the Magisters' grace are you two doing here?” Taeru snarled, slamming the door behind him.
“We could ask you the same question!” Leif snapped. “Of all places, really?”
“Oh shut it, Leif,” Taeru snarled. He kept his voice down. Aela felt giddy. Not only because she’d been about to kiss Leif, but because Taeru was—well, being Taeru. He was angry with her, but that didn’t change the fact that he was here, in this moment. “You’re the fool that’s brought my sister to likely the most dangerous place in Elyst. At least what I do with my life is my own.” His voice, though he was angry, was very low.
Aela interjected, making sure to keep her voice at the same volume level as her brother’s. “I am a person, you rudesby! I wanted to come, and so I did. For your information, though it isn’t any of your business, I snuck out. Leif hadn’t the slightest clue of it.” That wasn’t entirely the truth, but it was close enough.
“You make a very unconvincing boy,” he said curtly.
“You make a very unconvincing…” She searched for a word, though she was sure that she’d used all her insults on Calis. “Well, you’d make a very unconvincing girl should you ever try to be one!”
This made Leif laugh outright, and they both glared at him. “Oh, that really hurts, love. All that reading you do has paid off,” Taeru retorted.
Reading. Taeru was here. She could warn him, or at least show him what she was talking about. But first, she needed to win this argument. “Why—why are you with him? He is a Tsrali. I assume he does not know who you are, brother.”
This hurt him. He looked away, and there was a flicker of sadness in his eyes. Oh, she wished very much that she hadn’t said that. This also meant that Taeru was seeing Calis strictly because—well, he liked Calis. “No,” he said weakly, “no, he doesn’t.”
Leif was the one to speak next. “We overheard him, in the castle.” Taeru’s eyes widened at this assertion. Aela wished Leif had sense enough not to say we! “He was arguing with his father about the war. He seems to care for you very much.”
“I did not come here to talk about him.”
“Then, might I suggest a new topic,” Aela asserted. “Now that you are here, Kilik,” she mocked the name, “I have to show you something.” She made sure that her seriousness was properly conveyed. After all, now she needed a way to ease the pain she’d caused her brother. “But first…”
Taeru and Leif stared at her, as if awaiting some revolutionary statement. Then, though, her lips trembled, and her entire body quivered with disbelief. Taeru Lassau—the brother that she had loved more than anything—the brother she thought she’d never see again—was before her now. She sprung forward, and nearly tackled him, throwing her arms around his neck with desperate fervor. “Oh… I thought you were dead. Oh, I thought you were dead.”
Taeru returned the embrace, and she was happy to see that his ability to convey warmth through his touch had not deteriorated. “I missed you,” she whispered. “I missed you more than you could ever understand.”
“I understand, Aela. I missed you too… by the Magisters, I missed you too.” His voice was so filled with emotion that he’d kept pent up. She knew he must be speaking the truth, and she was sure that he knew she was. Her brother was back—and she would make sure that he stayed that way.
They held one another for several seconds, until Aela remembered that Leif was there—and that there was more work to be done. Taeru, though, was the one to pull away. His eyes sparked with affection as he looked at her. “I can’t believe you cut off all your hair.”
“I was glad to be free of it, as the rains on the journey from home to here were not kind.” Leif and she exchanged a glance at the memory of the men. She could still see the blood soaked field, and she chewed her lip.
Taeru’s eyes flickered with understanding, but he said nothing about it. He glanced to Leif, and though he didn’t look entirely approving, he spoke. “I won’t ask the nature of your presence here, but I think I can assume. This can only mean that the war is closer than I thought.”
As always, Taeru’s eyes clouded at the mention of war. Aela nodded her head, knowing that explaining it in this inn room would probably get them all killed. Now, she could show him why—and they could stop this. “You are having nightmares, aren’t you, brother?” she asked quietly.
His eyes flickered with suspicion as he regarded her. To think, her own brother was regarding her suspiciously, while trusting the likes of a Tsrali prince. Telandus had not left Taeru entirely unchanged, to be sure. “Why do you ask?” he questioned.
“There is danger here. There is danger in this war. The king of this land is poisoned, and there is a force moving everything towards the war. A force that I know you are trying to combat. But you cannot fight it alone.” Taeru jerked backwards, as though he was flinching away from her words. Well, she had to sound a little mad, spouting nonsense like some sort of sorceress. When she glanced at Leif, he wasn’t giving her much more confidence. “I need you both to see something.”
They said nothing, probably because they were worried she might collapse into a fit of pure insanity. Instead, though, she turned away from both of them and moved to the shelf. “Before I left,” she explained, “I went into Lower Town to purchase new books. I received one from Graan, one that he promised me was from Telandus. I read it, and it was a very interesting book. The book told of a hero, who had been in the midst of warring lands, and his attempt to stop the Magisters from destroying both of the warring kingdoms.”
She was still being stared at as if she were out of her mind. With a quick smile, she put the book in front of them and opened to where the blank pages began. The most troubling part of it all was that the book had started writing itself, adding tiny bits—which included Taeru’s discovery of his sister. “Clearly a story from Telandus, since they are the ones that believe some of the Magisters fell to darkness,” Leif managed to agree with her on one point. “They would surely think that some of the Magisters wanted to destroy the land.”
The belief systems were varied, but only slightly. Both Telandus and Cathalar believed that Magisters were the deities of Elyst. Aela couldn’t have hoped, though she’d been educated on all of them, to name all of the Magisters. There wer
e countless, reaching into the hundreds. They had created all things and they worked to keep them in motion. Telandus, though, believed that some of the Magisters became tainted with their powers, and so they felt to darkness. Because of this, Telandus no longer worshipped the Magisters, and worshipped only the Light that they used to create. Cathalar, though, believed that the Magisters remained in their position of power, and that the Light was only a means of creation for them.
Aela didn’t want to get into a debate on who was right and wrong, though, so she persisted. “The land was so torn by war that the Magisters thought they had no choice but to bring about the destruction of the kingdoms. That was the only way to save the land.” She spoke firmly, trying to sound as sane as possible. “Then, though, the hero appeared and pleaded with them. He promised that he would stop the war, given time, and that if the Magisters saw that he could not bring faith and compassion back to the kingdoms, then his life would be sacrificed and the kingdoms would be destroyed.”
“This book is blank, sister,” Taeru mumbled. She wanted to smack him. As if she hadn’t known that it was blank! If they would be quiet and let her work up to her point then perhaps it wouldn’t be lost. She glared at him, and he frowned.
“The hero worked tirelessly, and he finally allowed the kingdoms to reach a treaty of peace. Peace was restored, though one of the Magisters did not believe in it. This Magister cursed the hero, claiming that if ever this peace was broken, and that faith and compassion disappeared again—then the hero’s descendants would feel the wrath of the curse, as would the kingdoms.”