by Kira Nyte
“And our kinship?”
“’Tis complicated and inconsequential at this time.”
“No, I believe it is consequential. We are the last of our bloodline. Kalen succeeds our mother’s place in our House.”
“All the more reason to return to our realm.” Cerryan’s clear blue eyes lifted from Vivian and hung on Kalen. “Should you resume your place as the next royal of the House of Xyna, you will forfeit your…life here. If you choose not to comply, your crown will be distributed to a new House royal and your ties cut to us.”
“Well, isn’t that cheeky,” Fawn muttered.
“I don’t think there’s much that needs to be discussed or weighed in that decision,” Kalen said. “We’ve learned more about our vampire line than our Celestial line over the course of our lives.”
“Do not be deceived by the vampires, son of Mauryn. They hold no honor in their ways and will see you dead.”
Vivian gasped, the feeling of being punched in the stomach rendering her breathless. Certainly, that wasn’t true. Why would they want her and Kalen dead?
Cerryan’s expression grew blank, his eyes cold. He held out his hand. “I shall request the crown of Xyna.”
“It’s not here,” Fawn interjected, her voice steady and hard. “We don’t keep it here for security purposes.”
A faint chill rode up Vivian’s spine. Something wasn’t right with his request. He was able to determine that the crown had awoken recently. He traced the energy here. He should know the crown’s location.
“I have an idea,” Vivian said, flashing her frustrated brother a bright smile. “Why don’t we meet tomorrow night? That way, Kalen and I can discuss this when temperaments have calmed.” She faced Cerryan. “Would you agree to that?”
His gaze chilled her worse that the expression on his face. His ethereal form began to take over his more solid form.
“We do not negotiate—”
The air around them pulsed, knocking Vivian off balance. The electric bolt that zipped through the sizzling air was unforgiving, making her skin burn and her heart sputter.
The cottage vanished in a blink.
And the desolate road leading into Nocturne Falls appeared.
Only instead of standing alone with Cerryan after he made Draven disappear, she stood in the center of the road with Kalen, Fawn, and a stunned Draven, who clutched a young woman against him.
An instant later, another woman blinked into being out of thin air, her appearance as ethereally insubstantial as Cerryan’s. A rush of urgency surrounded her as she grabbed Vivian’s hand.
“I must get you away from here before he returns.”
Before Vivian could take another breath, the scene disappeared again.
When her feet connected with solid ground once more, she found herself in the center of a strange, opulent room that shimmered in a nighttime glow beneath thousands and thousands of stars. Distant galaxies.
And the moon, a bright, silver orb, was the focus of this alternate universe.
“Where the heck are we now?”
Vivian spun at the sound of Draven’s irritated voice. He quickstepped to her side, pulling her into his chest with one arm while his other held the young woman protectively close.
The Celestial woman appeared before them. A frown pinched her mouth and creased her forehead.
“I have brought you to the only place I know is safe.” She spread her arms. “Welcome to my home.”
Chapter Sixteen
“And who are you?” Kalen asked. There was not a hint of kindness in his tone. He wasted no time demanding an introduction from this stranger who poofed into his bedchamber before anyone in Levoire Mansion responded to the sound of his bike crashing to the floor. Sophia jumped into his arms and he had barely embraced her to shield her from this newest threat before his body went through an upsetting transport it had experienced less than a minute before.
Gods, his head was spinning.
And now, Vivian tucked against him on one side, his sister wrapped in his jacket to protect her skin and eyes tucked on the other side, he damn well wanted to know what the hell was going on.
The woman appeared to float more than walk, even if she looked solid and not ghostly like the man who magically shooed him back home. She stepped into the center of their little horseshoe-shaped half-circle and lowered her head in a small bow. “Call me as you please.”
“A name,” Kalen demanded.
The woman lifted her head, her expression serene. “Call me…Nalia.”
Draven suppressed a gasp when the woman turned her attention on him. She was beautiful, with pale blond hair and eyes that shone so clear they seemed almost translucent. Had it not been for the specks of gold, he might have questioned her ability to see.
Nalia reached for the jacket secured around Sophia. “She is safe in this light, this realm, I assure you. Her ailments are products of Earth, not of the stars.”
Vivian leaned back. The small distance injected a new coolness inside him, one he didn’t like and wanted to cast away.
“Sophia?” his goddess asked before turning her questioning gaze to him.
Draven opened his mouth to answer, but his attention jerked back to Sophia as Nalia slowly peeled the jacket away from her. His first instinct was to shove the strange fae woman away, but as she exposed Sophia’s flawless pale skin and fear-filled eyes, shock rattled his nerves. She remained unharmed.
It had been so long since he’d last seen his sister in light, decades, and she had been the equivalent of an adolescent at that time. A time before anything except candlelight and darkness became her drab world.
“What ailments?” Fawn asked, drawing close to Draven and Vivian, Kalen less than half a step behind her. Sophia tucked her face into his chest, her black hair falling over her cheek. “Who is she?”
“My sister,” Draven said. He sighed, giving Sophia’s shoulder a squeeze. “Love, it’s okay.”
His gaze brushed over Vivian when he spoke the endearment. For some reason, it didn’t feel the same on his tongue now. Not when spoken to his sister. That endearment belonged to the woman who stepped back to give him enough room to gently pry Sophia away from him.
Nalia held a hand close to Sophia’s exposed skin. Light formed a baseball-sized orb and danced in her palm. It twinkled like she had captured a million stars in the small globe.
“She suffers no harm.” Nalia twirled a finger from her other hand through the orb, dismissing the light. “The sunlight cannot harm this young woman here, nor can any light that may cause her harm on Earth.”
She lowered her arms to her sides, her smile serene.
With that, Draven connected the similarities between this strange woman and Vivian. It wasn’t so much their looks as it was the essence of their power. The thrum of calm and peace.
Nalia nodded once, the motion slow and calculated. “It is an essence that resonates through each of us.”
“You can read my mind,” Draven said. He shot Vivian a guarded glance. Her expression reflected his shock. She inched closer to Draven, her hand clasped tightly with his.
“That is a complicated assumption, with an equally complicated answer,” Nalia said.
“Draven, the small talk can wait,” Kalen interrupted, edging between Nalia and the group. Had Draven not had his own sister clinging to him for dear life, he would have taken offense by Kalen assuming command of the situation. “I believe you should be answering questions pertaining to the events this evening. Where we are. And why.”
Nalia gave Kalen an approving nod. “You have Mauryn’s selflessness and drive for goodness within you. And Vivian, your heart resonates with your beloved mother’s peace and purity. You two are your mother’s children.”
She manifested over one hand a gold circlet with strange gems shimmering within the elegant gold lacework.
“Wait, where did you—”
“It must be protected,” Nalia said, cutting into Fawn’s shocked exclamation.
“Okay, hold up a minute, because I’m getting the feeling I’m missing something.” Draven shot Kalen an icy look before giving Vivian a much softer look. He pointed to the circlet. “I’m not going to pretend to be an expert on fae and their breeds and such, but it doesn’t take a know-all to guess what that is.”
“A crown,” Nalia confirmed, but his attention was on Vivian.
Her eyelids dropped, followed by her head. He caught the shift of her jaw as she chewed her lip.
“Vivian?” Why did that sinking feeling in his gut have to return now? Oh, right. Crown. “What’s going on? And who is she?” He motioned to Nalia with a flick of his hand. “Where are we?”
“I don’t know where we are. I’ve never been here before. And I’m not sure who Nalia is.”
“Mauryn was my sister,” Nalia offered.
The silence that followed could steal a person’s hearing, it was so loud. Draven caught the cacophony of beating hearts as they up-ticked in pace. The looks that passed between everyone could redefine the meaning of shock.
None of it helped clear up what was going on. How Sophia seemed immune in this place to the dangers that would on Earth have either killed her or left her severely crippled. There was no sun here, at least for the moment, but Draven wasn’t about to take this stranger’s word that a hearty dose of UV tonic would prove harmless.
All this time, I thought living with the Levoire coven was an episode of The Twilight Zone. And now this.
He reeled under this latest wrench in life. It took a few breaths to realize the reeling sensation didn’t come from him. It resonated from Vivian. He felt her turmoil like it was his own. A dark, bubbling pit of hesitation, anticipation, caution, and so much more.
“How did you find the circlet?” Kalen asked, the command in his tone gone. He took the object when Nalia held it out to him.
“How did you get to it before Cerryan? And why give it back to Kalen if we are to forfeit our right to our mother’s bloodline?” Vivian pressed.
“You are not to forfeit your title as High Guard. Cerryan has waited centuries for the opportunity to obtain royal status—”
“Royal?” Draven couldn’t help that the word sounded more like a bark than an inquiry. The news smacked his thoughts. His eyes went wide as he looked at Vivian. His woman, who claimed they were meant for one another, was royalty. Royalty! The closest to royal he’d ever been was royally screwed. Like right now. “You’re kidding.”
“Kalen and Vivian are descendants of a very renowned and highly respected house of the High Guard. Our council anxiously awaited their return until it became clear they were not meant to return to the stars. Their place is on Earth, to create a new liaison between the many races of beings and ourselves.” Nalia turned her beatific smile on Kalen. “It is why we have not sought you out. Not until Cerryan interfered this evening. Do not ever hand your crown to another, Kalen. Your power comes from the stone during the full moon, as it does for all Celestial fae.”
Sophia’s head jerked up and her eyes narrowed on Nalia, then on Kalen and Vivian. Draven wasn’t sure what the big deal was—things didn’t get much more big deal-ish beyond being royal—but his sister seemed to realize some significance in this small piece of information.
“But you’re legends. Not real,” Sophia murmured.
“What do you know about them?” Draven asked, piqued by his sister’s knowledge and her hyper-focused attention on Nalia.
“I know that Celestial fae are believed to be god-like in nature. They do not reside on Earth, but dwell throughout the universe,” Sophia said, awe in her tone, her eyes hazy. “I have little else to do than read by candlelight. The coven’s library holds some ancient books of lore. Fae species were detailed in one of the tomes, and it mentioned Celestial fae. There wasn’t much information. The Celestials are elusive. They do not make themselves known unless there is a very good reason.”
Fascination and satisfaction crossed Nalia’s expression. “You impress me, child, as you are correct.”
“And this reason is Cerryan and his attempt to relieve me of my mother’s crown,” Kalen surmised. “Why didn’t he simply call it to him with magic like you did?”
“He cannot sense it. He does not possess a direct connection to the crown, as one of the blood does. He knows there was a ripple of energy from the crown after you placed it on your head to save your soul mate, but he cannot detect its location. He is not the owner of the crown, nor is he a relative of the owner. Our relationship allowed me to locate the crown before Cerryan could. He cannot have the crown, but he’d go to very dangerous lengths to get it.”
“I think we’re better off with the vampires. I doubt his claim that they’ll destroy us is true,” Kalen muttered.
Nalia’s eyes sparkled. “Oh, no, Kalen. They will do that. Destroy you and Vivian.” All humor disappeared as quickly as Draven had seen Nalia appear at the mansion. “Your father’s coven is not tolerant of outsiders, and anyone who may pose a threat to their way of life will be destroyed. Including you both.”
The nonchalance of her tone didn’t match the threat in her words. Nor did it help Draven’s peace of mind when her shimmering eyes slid to him.
“Ask Draven. He’s aware of their plan.”
Vivian spun to face him at the same time she wrenched herself from his hold and jumped back. Away from him. That motion left the hooks she had in his heart ripping through the muscle.
“You?” Vivian said on a gasp. “You knew what their plan was all along?”
“Draven.” Kalen couldn’t sound more lethal if he tried.
Draven threw his hands up in surrender, his attention sweeping over everyone to land on Vivian.
The only person in this alternate realm who seemed at ease and not ready to throttle him was Nalia. And his own sister, of course.
He scowled at the notion, but his internal battle was lost when he caught the pain in Vivian’s eyes. The betrayal. All that he cared about was having her listen, hear him out. “I didn’t know, I swear it. They arrived last night. Disclosed their plan. They never intended to bring you into the family. They aren’t interested in a liaison. They don’t want Salvatore’s offspring to pose a threat to the laws they’ve implemented. Laws that include no succession of another coven leader if a blood relative is alive to succeed in proper order.” He frowned. “Kalen and you, Vivian.”
“Sweet heaven, is there anyone who doesn’t want us dead?” Kalen hissed.
The hypnotic, lulling sound of Nalia’s laugh was as soft as a breeze yet as full and encompassing as a cloud. “Oh, my sweet nephew. Not everyone wants you dead. I certainly do not, and neither do the rest of the leaders of the royal houses. Cerryan was scorned by your mother, and that is where his animosity remains rooted.”
“For an elite being, Nalia, you have a very down-to-Earth manner,” Fawn said carefully.
Draven didn’t have experience with elite beings, but he found some basis for her claim. Her language was modern, relatable. She wasn’t as high-strung as Draven would imagine of someone from an elite race. She certainly didn’t hold the stuffiness of the members of the Levoire coven.
Nalia performed some sort of magic that left her hair coiling around her shoulders, her eyes bright beacons of glowing gold light, and her skin shimmering like it was covered in glitter. Draven squinted against the assaulting brightness until Sophia jerked upright with a sharp gasp.
The glow ceased and Nalia returned to her normal—if there was a normal for the fae—self and raised a brow. A calm smile tilted her lips as she looked between Sophia and an equally stunned Fawn.
“You’re one of the drawings!” Sophia squeaked.
“In the book Willa lent me,” Fawn added. “Someone sketched you.”
“Mauryn and I have always held a special curiosity for Earth and Her creations. We spent much time on your plane.” Sadness crept into her expression. “Mauryn saved me the night she was captured. We were playing in one of the forests wi
th the animals. Oh, how we loved the deer and the rabbits. We were ambushed. Mauryn used her power to remove me from the plane. I later learned that our presence in that forest was considered trespassing.”
“But you never tried to save her?” Vivian asked.
“I imagine it would be difficult for you to understand, Vivian, but we do not interfere with the Fates if we can avoid it. Our station in this existence, as well as our powers, can rival their pathways for the living. And our own. We can alter the course of actions”—her eyes shifted to Kalen—“but our actions have consequences. Your shift in time to save Faunalyn created a disturbance along another path in your life, Kalen, as evidenced by Cerryan’s arrival and the Levoire Elders’ hunt. There is no blame laid, but you must be instructed in our ways and the power both you and Vivian have.”
“She was your sister,” Kalen groused.
Sympathy welled deep inside Draven’s mind. And he thought his family and living arrangement was dysfunctional.
Instinctively, he reached for Vivian’s hand, pleased when her fingers slipped between his and clung for support. The fine creases of her forehead deepened as her eyes shadowed over with a storm of emotions he couldn’t begin to dissect. All he knew was he wanted to wash every piece of negativity away from her life.
“And I have suffered grief unlike that which you know.” Nalia’s voice sounded weighted with that grief. Her admission hung on the air until her concern turned to Vivian. “Had I saved her, you and your brother would never be. The hope for all of Earth beneath the powers of creatures they only believed to be lore and myths would be at risk. She knew this and willingly sacrificed herself to save her children, and do humanity one of the greatest favors. Keep them safe from the unknown. There will be difficult times ahead, and they will need the alliance they will create with us through you.”
“Are you all-seeing? All-knowing?” Sophia asked quietly.