At least that’s what they wanted us to believe. My senses told me otherwise. Someone remained just inside the tunnel, cloaked by magic.
Maker! I had to warn them. If they let the mask slip now, thinking they were safe, then all of this would be for nothing. But I needn’t have worried.
Alwyn stood swiftly and crossed to Talyn, pivoting him around in his seat. Then he slapped him, hard. “Your mother would have been disgusted with you,” Alwyn spat.
This was a dangerous dance. I saw the flush rise on Talyn’s face, his surprise unmistakable. Talyn’s wide-eyed shock turned to fury as he stood to face his father. “Don’t you dare mention her.” His voice was barely a whisper, but it held an edge of hatred, unlike anything I’d heard from him until now. “You have no right to talk about her, not after what you did.”
I had no idea what he was talking about, but I supposed it didn’t matter as it was all part of a ruse. As long as our silent spy ran off to his mistress and reported that Alwyn’s son truly hated him.
Talyn turned, snarling. “You will never strike me again.” Then he was gone too, and I sensed the spy slinking up the tunnel behind him. After a moment, the others started to file silently back up toward the villa. I began after them.
“Wait…please, Jesaela.” His voice was deep and musical, so unlike the voice he’d used in front of Lyssa and her court. I turned to face the king.
We were alone. A part of me quailed in his presence. Now that it was just us, I could feel his energy, the life he emanated. He pulsed in harmony with the crystals embedded in the cavern. It was an unheard symphony, and my heart leapt.
He made a gesture toward the darkened mouth of the tunnel. “It is safe to speak. Our visitor has returned to the princess to report.” He groaned as he arched his back, a pained expression on his lined face. “You know, I really must get around to making some more comfortable chairs, but then we rarely use this room for dining.” He waved a hand and the stiff-backed chairs melted into the cold rock, to rise again as several plush but ragged sofas.
I almost laughed. The sofas just suited him, and as the table melted away to be replaced by a fire pit that flickered and danced with the crystalline facets above, I couldn’t help but grin.
“Now, that’s so much better,” Ember sang as she soared out of the shadows.
I didn’t know what to say, so I said nothing. The king’s eyes settled on me, and he collapsed onto one of the sofas, huffing loudly.
“Yes, much better.” He stretched his arms, relaxing. He reminded me of someone, and I puzzled over it a while until I realized his expression resembled my father’s when he relaxed after a hard day cropping the newborn shoots of the Tree.
I was lost in memory for a second before he waved his arm, indicating a particularly sumptuous chair next to his. “Please, Jesaela, sit.” He coughed again, and Ember’s laughter echoed in my head. I sat, my hands trembling in my lap.
“I won’t bite, you know.” He winked, his face so similar to Talyn’s, the eyes identical. “Well, what did you think of our little ruse?”
A storm of fiery feathers landed on the table in front of me.
“I think the slap was a masterful addition,” chortled Ember. “Can I do it next time?”
The king laughed. “Not if you value your tail feathers, my old friend.” He turned to me, his expression turning serious. His eyes searched mine, and I felt a feather-like tendril snake around my brain. “You know the princess better than any here, Jesaela,” he said. “Do you think she believed it?”
My heart skipped a beat. This…ancient being, this king, was asking my opinion. I gulped, fighting my bone-dry throat to reply.
“I…I am quite sure she did, Majesty,” I stammered. “In fact, I almost believed the whole thing, and I knew it was an act.”
Alwyn smiled. “Good.”
There was still something bothering me.
“Out with it, girl,” sang Ember. She could read me like an open book, I realized, the same way Glyran could. Perhaps it was the bond of fire linking us.
The king fixed me with an expectant stare.
“To be honest, Majesty, Talyn did such a wonderful job acting the drunken ass, I’m surprised the princess still wants him.”
Both Alwyn and Ember grinned widely before the king’s smile faded slightly. “Oh, she would want him, no matter how he behaved. Now, however, she expects a weak, angry young man, easy to control. And Talyn will provide exactly what she wants and expects.”
“But why? Why would she want such a…such an idiot? Sorry.” I blushed.
Ember snorted and Alwyn chuckled, the sound a deep rumble in his wide chest.
“Control,” he said. “The princess thinks that if she possesses my son, she can control me, and she’s right of course.”
I gaped. What? Was he crazy? He knew what she would try to do, but he was willing to let his son into that viper’s nest?
“Talyn will bow and scrape to her every whim,” he continued. “He will hate me, tell her all my secrets and strategies, all my plans.”
The penny dropped. “He’s going to feed them false information?”
They smiled, nodding.
“He will keep the princess distracted,” said Ember, “to give you time to search, to find the spell binding the dragons…and break it.”
I groaned. This again. “But what if I can’t? The Citadel…it’s huge. It could take me years.”
The king took my hands. “We are immortal, child. If it takes years, so be it.”
I balked. “I can’t stand the idea of Talyn being in her clutches for so long.”
“Well then, I have a suggestion, girl,” sang Ember. “Find it quickly.” Her voice was tinged with humor, but I couldn’t fault her logic.
“I’ll try my best.”
Two sets of eyes shone with pride, and Alwyn gently squeezed my hands. “That is all we can ask, Jesaela. But know this, if you fail, all may be lost.”
A heavy weight settled on my shoulders. Then what my mother said flashed into my head. “What is this all about?” I asked. “Why do I have to do this? I mean, I know I promised to free the dragons and the other races, but why does this all need to happen now?”
Alwyn looked at Ember, silent communication passing between them before the king nodded, turning back to face me.
“Preparations are underway, have been for many decades.” His voice was little more than a whisper, as if even here he felt the need for secrecy. “The dwelves have sent emissaries to the faerie queen and the chief of the brownies…and to us.” His eyes shone in the crystal light. “War is coming, Jesaela, but the key is the dragons. While the eldar king holds their leash, they can be used to crush any rebellion.”
“You have promised to free all the people, girl,” said Ember. “Don’t you see? If you can find the spell and free the dragons, the rest of us will free ourselves.”
“But it must be now, or soon,” Alwyn whispered. His stare intensified. “The Darkness is rising, child. Soon it will be strong enough to reveal itself from the shadow it cloaks itself with, to throw away the tools it uses, and strike.”
I shuddered. It felt like I stood on the edge of a pitch-black pit. The shiver up my spine became an earthquake, and I had to press my hands together to stop them shaking.
“Lyssa?” Her name was a breath on my lips. “She’s one of the tools the Darkness hides within.”
They nodded grimly.
Alwyn sighed. “Vae told me of their encounter earlier, of what she saw within the girl.” His voice actually quivered. “The power she possesses is truly unnatural.” I saw him glance at my back, at the wings that should be there. The rims of his eyes shone with moisture.
“None of us could have done that, you know,” he breathed. I felt his sorrow, embarrassment, and disgust. “None of us would ever have done that, even if we had the power to do so.”
Ember scooted behind me. Her crooning betrayed how she felt as she examined the scars on my back. Vae had c
hosen a dress that deliberately had not hidden the burnt stumps.
“Never has a faerie lost her wings in this fashion,” she cawed. I couldn’t pluck up the courage to ask her how other faeries had lost their wings.
“We need to stop this,” I said, looking into their eyes. “You’ve all done too much, sacrificed so much already, for me to say no.”
A soft hand landed on my shoulder, and I turned to see Vae smiling down at me.
She glanced at her cousin, a disapproving look on her face. “If you’re quite finished bullying the poor girl into carrying out this ridiculous quest, I think it’s time she got some sleep.”
I almost laughed out loud at the cowed expressions on Alwyn and Ember’s faces. It was clear who truly ruled this island kingdom, at least where my welfare was concerned.
“Come, child.” She took me by the elbow as I stood up, leading me to the tunnel.
I had so much I wanted to ask her, but she shushed me before we’d taken two steps into the passage. “We have so little time, Jes, and so much you need to know, but these corridors aren’t safe. Not while she is here.” I didn’t need to ask whom she meant. I felt like telling her that I’d be able to sense anyone nearby, but I stayed silent until the latch closed on the door to my rooms and Vae locked the door behind us.
She collapsed into the armchair. “Well, I hope all the theatrics were worth it.”
“I just wish Father had thought to warn me about the slap.”
I wheeled around. Talyn gingerly probed the darkening bruise on his cheek.
Maker! My pulse went from zero to infinity in under a second. As I locked eyes with him, I could tell that Talyn was experiencing the same sensation.
“It’s called the quickening.”
We both turned to Vaeolet, eyes wide. What? She knew what this was? This inexplicable bond of completely stupid affection we felt for each other?
She put her palms up to stop the barrage of questions then caught both our stares and sighed. It was as if she deflated before our eyes. “I am old.” Her head drooped. “Far older than anyone has a right to be.” Her head came back up, and her gaze pierced right through to my soul. She seemed to look at a part of me I hadn’t known existed. Then her gaze swept to Talyn and she repeated the exercise.
“In all my years, I have never witnessed a quickening, just heard about it. I thought it a myth, but now…”
We were silent for a time. I did not have the first clue what she was talking about. What, by the Great Maker above us all, is a quickening?
“It’s a bonding.”
It seemed I’d sent the question silently into Vae’s mind. Talyn looked at me, wide eyed.
“But it’s much more than the mere bonding of mates that happens from time to time among our people.” Vae’s eyes flashed with wonderment. “The quickening is a bond between two souls drawn together over thousands of years. Each soul may have lived a hundred lives, but all of their experiences have served a purpose.”
It sounded to me a lot like the prophecy I didn’t fully believe in. A large part of me rebelled. I didn’t want to lose control…but then hadn’t I already lost it? I belonged to Lyssa, after all, so why not let this play out?
“These past lives feed into the new one, to draw the two souls closer and closer, until—” Vae stared at us— “until they meet.”
My head reeled. This was impossible on so many levels. I wanted to scream how wrong this felt to me, but I couldn’t help but dance to the rhythm pounding through my soul.
Talyn looked at me, his eyes gleaming. “This is impossible, Jes. But I feel it, and I know you do too.” He turned away from me briefly, cursing under his breath before turning to Vae.
“This is going to make an already difficult task almost impossible,” he whispered to her, as if he expected me not to hear him.
Suddenly, I was mad. “So I’m an inconvenience now?” Forget mad. I was furious. “Do you think I planned this…this quickening, whatever it is?” My voice rose as I continued. “Do you think I want these feelings, when I don’t even know you? I don’t even like you, for Maker’s sake.”
A grim smile appeared on his face. “Good! Because I take back what I just said. It’ll be easier now, not harder…because I don’t like you either.” He stormed to the door, wrenched it open, and slammed it behind him.
I strangled a scream of frustration. Maybe he and the princess were a match after all, and perhaps his act earlier had a basis in truth. Tears stung the back of my eyes, but they weren’t tears of anger…at least not completely. He’d been lying, his words a reaction to me losing my temper. I had lied too. Okay, I was right when I said I didn’t know him, not really, but I could see deeper than the surface. And what he’d done for me earlier, showing me my mother, and home. A single tear traced its way down my cheek.
Vae knew. She saw the truth, and she huffed as she stood, wiping the tear with a gentle caress. “Now you may just be ready,” she said.
Crimson starlight filled the room as Ember appeared on her shoulder.
“And now the real game begins,” she crooned.
Chapter Eleven
Pain
I dreamt.
I was flying. My wings fluttered at my back as I sped toward the dark smudge on the horizon. In the midst of the expanse, a green glow sparkled under the glittering night sky…the Tree. My heart raced as it grew in size. I was going home. Tears of joy flowed down my cheeks as I approached the border of the forest. Inside, I sensed the welcoming minds of my tiny avian friends, their voices raised in joyous melody.
My heart beat almost as fast as my wings. I was home. I couldn’t wait to see my family, to glimpse their expressions when I woke them. I closed my eyes and waited for the magical feeling to wash over me as I crossed the wards into the forest proper.
I reached out a hand, ready for the cool caress of the barrier, but something was wrong. It wasn’t cool. It was warm, and getting hotter the farther I flew.
NO! My eyes snapped open just in time for the wall of flame to blast me back. I landed hard on the plain, waiting for the painful crunch of my wings, but besides the whoosh of breath from my lungs, there was nothing.
I looked over my shoulders. My wings were gone, only scarred skin where they should have sprouted from my back. A cold ball formed in my stomach, and my hands shook as I managed to rise. The sky glowed red, but it wasn’t from any sunrise or sunset.
The forest burned. The heat was so intense it dried my tears before they reached my cheeks. The flames reached as far as I could see in any direction. Sparks flew skyward. Some of the dancing embers were birds, my friends, engulfed in flame, screaming in pain as the fire consumed them. I quailed.
Above the crackle of the inferno, cruel laughter sounded. It was getting closer. I knew the voice and terror gripped my soul. I had to run, had to escape, but where could I go?
The forest, my home, was gone, and I had caused the disaster. I had brought the princess’s wrath upon the place of my birth. I had destroyed everything and everyone I loved. I had nowhere to run to, so I sank to my knees, sobbing as a figure walked toward me through the smoke.
Her laughter chilled me to the bone, despite the inferno at my back, but I managed to salvage a shred of defiance. I raised my gaze to stare into Lyssa’s eyes. Then my heart stopped.
My eyes met a pair of pale blue eyes framed by long fair hair. Blue-white flame wrapped her wrists, flowing like whips from her fingers, snaking across the ground. The long grass flashed to flame on contact, but she embraced the fire as it licked her legs.
My legs. My mouth kept forming the word no, but no sound came out. It was as if I looked into a twisted mirror. Behind her…behind me, dragon wings unfolded. Huge and glittering like starlight, they shifted to form the shape of a dragon head.
Her blue irises flashed with the same magical lightning, but beneath them lurked a darkness so deep it cloaked her soul. I shuddered. No, not cloaked. The darkness had corrupted her completely.
Her gaze froze me. Everything around me burned, but I knelt on an island of grass untouched by flame. Her feet caused a cloud of ash to spin into the air, stinging my eyes and nose.
She grinned. ‘Witness the power of dragon fire, Jesaela.’
She swept her arms out, and the world exploded.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Maker! I sat straight up in bed, my throat on fire. My lungs burned and sweat soaked the sheets. My hair was plastered across my face, but it was dark outside. The fire was gone, but my heart still thundered in my chest.
A dream. It had been a dream. Part of me wanted to believe that. It had to be a dream, didn’t it? But something deep and ominous whispered it was much more.
BOOM!
I almost jumped out of my skin.
“Jes?” a voice hissed in a whisper from the other side of my bedroom door. “Jes, are you okay?”
The booming transformed into a gentle but insistent knocking as I finally came out of the funk of whatever had just happened. I desperately clung to the memory of the dream, but as the knocking intensified, it slipped like grains of sand through my fingers.
“Jesaela!”
Damn. Why was he here?
Talyn knocked again. I groaned, stuffing my head under the pillows. Maybe if I ignored him he’d go away.
Knock, knock, knock. Clearly not.
“Jes, are you awake?” he hissed insistently.
I raised a pillow, grinning balefully at the door. “I am now,” I said grumpily. “Wait a minute.”
I was about to open the door when Damn! The large wall-mounted mirror reflected my semi-naked body, shimmering under the light reflected from the sea of the glistening bay outside my window. I might be grumpy, but I didn’t want to give him the shock of his life.
The night was warm, so I grabbed a simple silken robe, slipping it over my shoulders and fastening it with a silver belt. I stood for a second in front of the mirror, fussing with my hair and groaning inwardly. I was a mess. I didn’t know why I cared so much, but I couldn’t help it. I spent another couple of seconds combing my fingers through the tresses to remove the worst of the tangles. Urgh. It’d have to do.
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