She pulled away and stepped back.
Fucking!
This cyborg from the mountain realm couldn’t be her mate. It was one thing to think of being with him, but it was another thing entirely to think of being together forever.
He touched his mouth. “What was that?”
She averted her eyes, backing away toward the cave. “Nothing. You should get some sleep. You have a long day tomorrow.”
His eyes narrowed, only to grow again. His knowing expression told her he knew about an elf’s magic choosing their mate. He opened his mouth to speak but closed it just as quickly.
“Whatever you think it was,” she said, “you’re wrong.”
His expression shuttered and he rocked back on his heels as if she’d struck him.
“I get it.” His back was straight, too straight, as he turned and disappeared into her cave. It took every ounce of her willpower not to go after him, not to soothe away the hurt she had seen in his eyes.
It was better this way. If he really could be her mate, she couldn’t just couple with him freely. She had to fulfill her duty as the guardian first. And he had to pass the tests.
Resolve strengthened, she made her way inside and found him standing in the middle of the space.
“Where would you like me to sleep?”
“I made you a sleeping pallet behind that wall.” She pointed. “It should be comfortable. Let me know if you need anything.”
“Thank you,” he said stiffly, crossing the room toward the pallet.
She went to her own sleeping pallet, feeling very alone as she settled onto it and pulled the blanket all the way up to her neck.
She still felt the tingling from his kiss and tried to will it away. Remembered the feeling of his hands on her, the tenderness, the desire.
She stared at the ceiling, cursing the gods.
But the longer she lay there, the more her anger dissipated. For the first time in so long, she felt alive. Anger, happiness, sadness—it all ran together, but the main thing was that she felt something.
And then her feelings reminded her that he could die tomorrow.
Chapter Fifteen
Valdjan
Valdjan awoke, forgetting where he was for a moment. Then he smelled the aroma of fresh tea brewing, and he remembered the night before. Ithyll. The dance. The kiss.
He remembered her taste, the way she’d given herself over to the enchantment of their kiss. He loved that he could make her blush, rouse her into forgetting her reservations.
Even though she’d tried to deny it, he knew her magic had chosen him. He couldn’t remember exactly how it worked, though, and wished he’d asked Tordan or one of the others more about it.
He didn’t want to hurt her, and dying in these tests was a real possibility for him. He shook his head, pulling on his pants and shirt but leaving his armor on the floor next to his pallet. “Do you have a shower?” he called, hoping it would be like the castle in Renwyn. Somehow the elves had even made the water warm there.
“I have a river,” she replied, pointing toward the entrance. “Here you go.” She tossed him a bathing sheet.
He grumbled, heading for the entrance. But when he got outside, the sun was up, its light just creeping into the canyon, and the sky was blue. The chirping of birds in the distance made him feel optimistic about the day. The icy water pricked his skin, forcing him to breathe deeply to control his shivers.
But when he got out he felt alive and refreshed, and he returned to the cave ten minutes later, feeling like a new man.
“Tea?” she called.
He entered the dining area to see her placing two mugs on the counter. “Have anything stronger with that?”
“Not if you want to actually pass the test.”
His eyebrows rose. “You have some of that?”
“Volcano’s Breath? Sure. The alcohol proof is so high that it never goes bad, and only gets stronger with time.”
“You are truly a woman after my heart.” He was gratified to see her cheeks turn pink and a small smile on her lips.
“Is there any food in this place?” he grumbled.
“No. I’ve subsisted on herbs and the power from the crystals for breakfast for the past thousand years.”
“Really?” His eyes widened, and he searched the bare counter, his stomach rumbling.
“No, of course not.” She laughed. “I actually woke early and collected some birds’ eggs. I’ll throw them into the pot to boil.”
He tried not to salivate at the thought of how her food would taste. The elves used spices in a way he’d never had before, but there was something special about Ithyll’s food.
She set a bowl of wild berries and another of wild lettuces mixed with root vegetables onto the table. “You can start on these.”
He barely waited until she sat before grabbing one of the vegetables and taking a giant bite. He chewed rapidly and then ate the second half, not pausing until he realized she was gaping at him. “What?”
She recovered quickly. “Nothing. I just forgot how much men can eat. You devoured the entire vegetable in two bites.”
He eyed the bowl. “Well, it wasn’t that big,”
“I guess not to you,” she agreed.
He finished eating as quickly as possible, ignoring the way his stomach twisted with nerves as his eyes stayed locked on the golden-purple crystal.
“Are you ready?” she asked without preamble when he was finished.
He paused. He found himself wanting to stay with her, but he knew he had to finish the tests. The Ardaks were going to return, and if they did, even this cave wasn’t safe. He eyed the crystal. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”
She clasped his hand for a moment, then the world began to fade around him, and his body dissolving into nothingness.
The last thing he saw was Ithyll’s face.
I shouldn’t have kissed her. What if I don’t come back?
She was too good for him, and the risk of death in the test was too real. And he knew how it felt to be the one left behind.
He gathered his thoughts, hoping Elberos would reappear in this test, as well. His body reappeared in an elven meeting room as one of ten elves sitting around a table.
“This is getting worse and worse! Elves are protesting on almost every street in the city. Even if Lord Uhlsfel is able to port in, I have no idea how he will get here.”
He corrected his count of ten to a count of eleven members of the council.
Since he had no idea what was going on, he slowly leaned back in his chair, trying not to draw attention as he glanced to his wrist. Thankfully, whoever’s body he’d taken over had a LINK device on his wrist. He pressed a button, turning it on.
He noted that according to the screen, his name was no longer Lord Rilien. This time, he was Lord Ilphthal, an elder who seemed fond of wearing a pinched expression. Either that or Lord Ilphthal had just eaten something distasteful before the picture was taken.
He scanned the headings on the screen until he found one labeled High Council. Inside, there was a picture and short background of each of the men in the room with him. The elf who had compiled the file had also included personal notes at the bottom of several of them.
“We can’t close the portals or we’ll risk everything we’ve worked so hard to achieve for the empire!” The notes said that was Lord Ha’avel. He had funded expansion on two planets—one with benevolent magical creatures and one with malevolent magical creatures.
Valdjan played with the LINK screen, trying to type open next to his name, trying to keep a tally of the way the members were voting.
“We must close the portals or we risk everything we’ve worked so hard to achieve here,” a second voice said drily. A glance told him it was Lord Zekrail.
He typed closed next to Zekrail’s name.
A strong, clear voice broke in. “The question is, my brethren, what is the purpose of the elven people? Is it to expand the empire? Or is it to protect Melamar as
well as the history and traditions of our people? Each of us represent a different tribe, and seven of the eleven of us must agree one way or the other.” The elf’s eyes settled on Valdjan briefly before flicking to the next elf. That was Lord Tahlavel, and the notes said his daughter was on Aurora. “With the recent attacks, I believe keeping the portals closed will better ensure the safety of Melamar.”
Why would he want to cut off the portals with his daughter out there? What an asshole.
Valdjan typed closed next to his name.
There was a thundering sound, almost like rain but much, much heavier. Valdjan looked toward the floor-to-ceiling windows and found what looked to be rocks pelting against the shield.
“Clearly, we need to take the vote as soon as possible so the tribes can accept the decision, whatever it is.”
“What time is Uhlsfel supposed to arrive?”
Tahlavel glanced at the clock. “Twelve hours ago, but as you know, he was delayed with the portal closure on his world and the protests on this one. I’ll send for everyone when he arrives, let’s adjourn until he gets here.”
The others stood and began to vacate the room, but Valdjan remained seated.
“Are you all right?” Tahlavel asked him.
He nodded, and the other man nodded back, pausing for only a beat before leaving.
Some of the portals are closed. Elves are rioting in the streets. Seven of eleven must agree.
The situation was bad, but even worse, it involved the government. Tordan had always tried to get him to take an interest in government, but Valdjan had no interest in diplomacy.
Ithyll had told him they closed the portals when she was young, cutting off all the worlds from Melamar, but she didn’t know why. Knowing what he did about how that turned out, the reasonable assumption would be that he was here to do the opposite. How he was supposed to accomplish that, he had no idea.
He heard the door open and a hand clasped his shoulder. “Lord Ilphthal. We’d better get going.”
He looked up to see a familiar face. “Elberos! Thank the gods. Very fucking glad to see you.”
Elberos’s eyes narrowed and then he glanced around quickly. “Jaffete!” he whispered harshly. “Is it really you again?”
Valdjan tried to rise from his seat, but Elberos pushed him back down, waiting for his answer.
“Yes, it’s me.”
“What the vok are you doing here? The council is about to take a vote that will change the course of history!”
“What do you think I’m doing here? Something else is going wrong.” Valdjan pulled out the chair next to him. “Tell me everything.”
Elberos pulled him up instead. “Not here. Let’s get to the ship before you speak to anyone else.”
He followed Elberos out of the room, down a long corridor, and out a door at the end. They weren’t on a space station this time, which was a small boon in Valdjan’s favor.
“Traako! You’re doing it again. Stop staring!” Elberos grabbed his arm and pulled him along.
They were on an enormous circular platform, seven ships docked evenly around the edges. They were almost as high as the clouds, and he could see an elven city stretching out on all sides.
The streets were writhing with people, and some of them obviously saw him because they started hurling things in his direction, each item bouncing harmlessly off the magic shield.
Off in the distance, he could see a gargantuan mountain rising even higher than the platform.
“Where are we?” he breathed.
“Stop acting like an idiot!” Elberos continued to force him to walk forward. “Our ship is this way.”
They entered the tiny ship through a hatch at the back and came to a stop by a table and two benches before Elberos was pushing Valdjan down onto the seat. “Who are you really?”
“That doesn’t matter. I need to figure out why I’m here,” Valdjan said urgently.
“It matters to me. If you don’t tell me, I’ll turn you in this time.”
“Even though I helped you solve the other puzzle?”
Elberos’s lips pinched. “Puzzle? What puzzle?”
“I meant problem. I helped you figure out why the magic was creating magical creatures.”
Elberos did not look convinced, and Valdjan weighed the likelihood that the elf would turn him in. Finally, he decided that Elberos was trustworthy enough to tell him more of the truth. “My name is Valdjan, and I’m from Aurora in the future, which I told you when I was Lord Rilien. What I didn’t tell you is that I’m from the Aurora that will exist fifteen hundred years from now. I’ve been sent back in time by a guardian because this is the time when everything went wrong. Only, we don’t know what exactly we are looking for or how to fix it.”
Elberos was quiet for long moments, so long that Valdjan began to regret telling him.
“And Valdjan is your real name?”
“It is.”
“Well, Valdjan, if that’s true, then I know why you’re here,” Elberos spoke slowly, as if he were working on a complex equation as he formed the words. “Things are definitely going wrong.”
“What happened with the queen? The science we showed her?”
“That was only a week ago. We’ve made the changes, but we need the council behind us as well, and she and the king couldn’t convince the others to listen to them. There is too much emotion involved, and things have gotten much worse on the other planets. The Ardaks have actually breached the portals and killed warriors and families on this side twice, and yesterday, a dragon flew through another portal. It took hours for us to kill it, and in the meantime, it incinerated two small cities.”
Valdjan ran his fingers through his hair. “So now they want to close the portals.”
“Yes. The queen sent Lord Ilphthal and me to try to persuade the council to listen to the science, but he hasn’t been able to get a word in edgewise so far.”
“In my time, history shows that you closed the portals. If they are supposed to be closed, then I wouldn’t be here, which means we need to keep them open. I also have a feeling the Ardaks are attacking in my time because the elves left their planet. They grew unchecked, became extremely intelligent, and took over the use of the technology you left behind.”
Elberos’s eyes widened. “So, you’re saying we have to keep them open so we can keep the magically mutated species in check?”
“I think so. If you could keep them open and solve the problems with the magic, it would be better for everyone.” Valdjan leaned forward. “How many people do you think will vote to keep them open?”
“Right now?” Elberos shrugged miserably. “I would say that almost all of the eleven are going to vote to close the portals.”
“That’s a fucking letdown,” Valdjan replied. “So, I basically have to change almost everyone’s mind.”
Elberos turned to him. “What is ‘fucking?’”
Chapter Sixteen
Ithyll
Astrange feeling startled Ithyll, taking her attention from the crystal.
It felt like the rumble of magic, but it was more powerful than any magic she’d felt except from other elves—and this didn’t feel like elven magic.
She took the crystal with her and crossed the stone floor toward the entrance, but hesitated before opening it. She had no idea what lay outside, and it was coming closer. If she needed to use a burst of magic to defend herself, she might not be able to keep the test going.
She stood there in indecision for a moment.
She had no idea what would happen if Valdjan was still inside the test and she lost her connection, and it wasn’t something she wanted to find out. But she was allowed to pull him out if she was in mortal danger.
She would have to act quickly if that happened.
She took a deep breath and opened the entrance. A blast of magic hit her, pushing her back a few steps. She forced her feet forward, one step at a time, feeling the magic grow in intensity with every passing moment. Looking up th
e canyon toward its source, she still couldn’t see anything.
She looked down at the crystal. Valdjan had just started the test. He needed more time, as much as she could give him.
Then she thought of the crystal she’d never used. Had never wanted to use because, why on Aurora would someone alone for a thousand years want to slow time?
If she could use a bit of its power, she could create a time bubble around the crystal, giving Valdjan more time to finish the test while she figured out what to do about whatever magic was coming.
She quickly shut the entrance and ran to the small box against the far wall, throwing it open and finding the time crystal. Then she ran back to the entrance, opened it, and held the crystal aloft. It gleamed in the sunlight, and she concentrated, activating the magic within and focusing it on Valdjan’s crystal. Around her, nothing seemed to change, and for a moment she wasn’t sure if it had worked. But then she looked into the crystal and realized Valdjan was a blur. So time had sped up for him, but remained the same outside the bubble.
She wouldn’t know if he was in trouble, but there was little she could do about that, anyway. She was tasked with protecting his life so he could have the chance to succeed. And for the first time, she believed that he could. A vague tingling sensation went through her as she remembered their kiss the previous night. He deserved the chance to try.
She put both crystals back into her pocket so they would be safe and turned toward the door to figure out what was coming at her with such a powerful magic.
Chapter Seventeen
Valdjan
“W
hy do they want to strand all the elves on other planets? Don’t they still have families here?” Valdjan asked irritably.
“Hence the civil war,” Elberos replied, waving a hand toward the chaotic crowd. “Actually, many of the populace don’t want to close the portals. It’s only this group of older men who want to preserve their empires. Most of them were against too much expansion in the first place. It shakes up the social system to have too many options for wealth and power.”
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