by Jen Wylie
"You shouldn't have let go," he said stonily.
Ah, there he was. Maybe she'd lost her mind. An annoyed smile crossed her lips as she pulled back from the assassin. "I didn't. You let go of me."
He turned his head to the side, a nearly invisible frown on his face. After staring off into the distance for a moment he finally returned his attention back to her. "You are correct. He…we…" He frowned again. "I apologize."
Loosening her arms a little, she rested her head on one and closed her eyes, still trying to get herself back in control.
"The lights are shards, of glass or mirror perhaps. It would be unwise to get in the way of one."
"Understood." Pushing back, she locked one hand firmly into his and refused to look down. Resting one foot on top of his helped. I'm on solid ground. All is well. He didn't comment. "Back up we go, then? I think the lights are likely circling him."
"Agreed. I will try to maneuver us to avoid as many shards as possible."
Nodding, she held him tightly as they moved upward. Should she apologize for well…literally falling apart? A wave of nausea washed over her and she cleared her throat. "This isn't going as planned," she muttered.
"Things rarely do," the assassin answered softly.
She looked up at his face quickly. He never spoke softly, yet he'd just done it twice. He kept his face tipped upward, apparently intent on their destination.
"We are coming closer to the outer shards. It was a stray one which distracted me last time. Link your arm with mine. I can cast a rune if needed."
She did as he suggested, then her own gaze turned upward as they moved below the lights. "What do you think they are? Protection? A trap?"
He remained silent for a while before answering. "It is likely they are fragments of his shattered mind. Perhaps remnants of what was here previously. Maybe memories."
The thought made her chest hurt and she clenched her jaw against the tears suddenly burning her eyes.
"I don't see him."
Using her bond, she searched for Kei. "Keep going."
As they drew closer the number of stray shards increased. After Bay threw out his third rune he stopped and she looked up at him in surprise.
"This isn't working." As a hovering rune glowed beside her, Bay suddenly grasped her arms and pulled her around to his other side. Where she would be more protected, she realized. Like she was a doll, he adjusted her, tucking her body against his, moving her one arm behind him and the other to his chest. He then settled his arm around her and held her close.
"Hold on to me."
She did and then waited. When nothing happened, she looked up at him, and was surprised to find the assassin gone.
"Well, this is delightful, isn't it, my lovely?" He looked down at her with an amused smile.
"Uh…yes? Why are you here?"
A shoulder rose and fell. "I am better at such things." He gave her a curious glance. "He didn't want to leave you, which is…" His voice trailed off and he shook his head, not completing his thought. The smile appeared again. "Apologies for letting go before. The shard moved quicker than expected." His head tipped to the side. "I rather didn't think you'd fall either. Perhaps we should have done a bit more training."
"Apparently," she muttered.
They began to move forward. At first, she thought they just moved slowly, but then realized with no reference points, she'd simply misjudged the size of the spinning lights before them.
"Are you certain he is inside?"
Once again, she used her bond with Kei to search for him. He'd grown closer and the direction remained the same. "Yes."
His grip around her waist tightened. "I have to ask how you know." When she didn't answer, he continued, "It won't be easy moving through that. Assuming there is a hollow center, I may not have enough power to make it through to there. If so, I'll take us out. If we make it inside, and he's not there, I won't be strong enough to go through again. We'll have to try another day."
She didn't want to tell him, even knowing him finding out soon was inevitable. Trusting him remained difficult, an obstacle in her mind she had trouble crossing.
Closing her eyes for a moment, she finally just spit the words out. "We are bound." Her words were met with silence. "You know, Fey bindings–"
"Yes," he interrupted. "I understood."
He didn't say anything else and she turned to look up at him. "That's all you're going to say?"
His head tipped to the side slightly as he gave her a condescending smile. "I'm quite certain you've been asked often how that was even possible. Obviously, it just was. You don't seem to follow many of the magical rules. I also imagine Kei has been told on numerous occasions how foolish it was."
Pressing her lips together in annoyance, she just nodded.
"Therefore, no need to repeat myself."
"You just did."
He bumped her with his hip and scowled. They'd drawn even closer to the condensed area of shards and he stopped, his free hand outstretched to the side as he somehow deflected the increasing number of shards coming at them.
"I'm going to shield us. Do I have to tell you again not to let go of me?"
"No," she snapped.
"Good. It would help, if you could imagine us protected also."
"I don't have any power."
"In your mind, not all is about power. Obviously, since you are here."
Rot. She hated when she appeared stupid. "Understood."
"Strength of will. Do what you can. We've been here quite some time as it is. You'll be tired, and likely have a headache when we return anyway. Ready?"
Swallowing nerves, she nodded.
After a few moments, she felt him relax against her. "Shield is up," he murmured. "Now you try."
She had absolutely no idea what to do. Grimacing, she closed her eyes. Nothing really felt different. With a frown, she attempted to push her senses outward. There…something surrounding them both. A solid circle of light, Baelan's power, mixed with something else. The only thing she could think to do was concentrate and try to imagine it stronger, adding her own strength and will, weaving it through what the Elf had already made.
He sucked in a deep, shocked breath. "Yes. How…?"
Slumping against him, she opened her eyes. His remained closed, his brow furrowed and face tight. "Good?"
"How you can manage to do that, yet not stand, is beyond me."
She snorted.
"I must concentrate, my lovely. Guide me through, but do try to not distract me otherwise."
Turning her head toward the shards, she took a steadying breath. Soon she'd see Kei. Find out what was wrong. Fix him. "I'm ready. Forward."
The sudden onslaught startled them both, but Baelan managed to hold the shield. Every now and then she told him to keep going.
His grip on her waist tightened. Slight tremors wracked his body. She gritted her teeth, hoping they'd get to the middle soon. Finally, they broke through the worst of it.
Craning her neck, she looked around. Her fingers tightened on his shirt. "Up! Forward and up!"
The remnants of a stone slab drew closer. The floating stone looked strangely out of place, but the figure crouched on it broke her heart.
Baelan stopped on his own when they cleared even random shards. She nudged him. "Just a little closer and I can stand."
"Arowyn," he said sadly, doing as she asked.
Once close enough, she hopped onto the stone. For a moment, she kept one hand on the Elf to make sure nothing happened. Steady, a deep sigh lodged in her throat as she looked to her Fey.
Her sweet, wild, dying Fey.
Tears threatened, and she blinked rapidly before taking a few steps.
"Aro," Baelan said quietly. "Remember we are intruders here. Do not startle him."
No, she certainly didn't want to do that. Deep breath. A few more steps.
Kei crouched before her, hair a wild mess, arms around a large ball of swirling blue light in his lap. Rocking bac
k and forth, he would touch his forehead to the ball now and then, lips moving but no words reaching her ears.
Even though he looked horrid, for some reason he wasn't in as bad a state as his real body.
Soon she stood only a few steps away, yet he hadn't seemed to have noticed her.
"Kei," she whispered tenderly. "Can you hear me? It's me, Aro."
The rocking paused, then started again. "Aro," he repeated. Over and over and over.
Looking over her shoulder, she cast a dismayed look at Baelan. He gestured her forward.
Carefully, she moved closer until she stood next to him, and then crouched down. "Kei," she said more firmly. "I'm here. I'm here with you."
He continued to rock and repeat her name.
"Rot," she muttered, blinking back more stupid tears. She tentatively rested a hand on his shoulder and called his name.
"You're not real." He squeezed his eyes closed. "Not real. Not real."
"Yes, I am, and you need to wake up. Look at me!" She squeezed his shoulder as she leaned forward. "I'm here! Look at me!" Swallowing thickly, she calmed herself and pressed a hand to her heart. "Feel me, Kei. I'm right here."
He stopped rocking and slowly turned to face her. His eyes widened and then brimmed with tears. "Aro…" Blinking, he shook his head. "You can't be here."
Not quite sure what he meant by that, she shrugged. "I learned how, so I could save you. You're dying!" Her voice rose as her agitation grew. She wasn't sure how much time she had here with him. "Tonight. Tomorrow. Your body is going to die. You need to wake up. Now."
His gaze returned to the ball of light. "But I need to protect Aro. I tried. I tried to keep her."
Looking at the ball, she frowned. Did it contain memories? Memories of her? Her heart ached, that he'd fought to keep those. "Kei," she tried again. "I'm here. And I'm alive and out in the world waiting for you. I need you. Out there, not in here."
His brow furrowed and then he looked at her again, his beautiful golden eyes meeting, searching hers. "Aro? I'm not… I don't understand. You're here?"
Relaxing slightly, she smiled. "I'm here. I'm always with you. I'll always need you. Right now, I need you to wake up."
"My Aro…" Kei's gaze shifted to look behind her. His eyes narrowed. "Who is he?" Before she could answer, his teeth clenched and furious eyes snapped back to her. "He is bound to you!"
"It's…It's only one way," she stuttered out, shocked at the sudden anger in his voice and wondering how he knew.
"Why is an Elf bound to you?"
"Prince sent him to protect me," she said gently, trying to calm him down. It was mostly truth. Telling him now how Baelan had betrayed and killed her wasn't a good idea.
Her words didn't help. "I protect you!"
"From Elves?"
"I'll kill anything for you, Aro."
A smile came to her lips. Perhaps she was strange for feeling touched by such a comment. "Not stuck in here you can't. You need to wake up."
His brows drew down and his shoulders slumped as he looked around. "I don't know how. Everything is broken."
"We'll fix it. Together."
He nodded but turned his attention back to his ball and began to rock again.
Aro turned to Baelan, who still hovered near the edge of the stone. "I don't…" She shook her head, forcing herself to remain composed. "What happened to him? What can I do?"
The Elf regarded the Fey for a long moment then gestured to the blue ball of light. "He holds remnants of memories. As you know, the Dragos broke him. It seems likely he had a conscious mind space prior. Though, it is also possible what the Dragos did resulted in him having one now." He turned his gaze to the black surrounding them, and the flashing shards whirling around them. "I would assume those are the memories Damon tore away. He will need to somehow retrieve them to get them back." His gray gaze returned to her. "First, he will need to have a place to put them. He needs to create…something in this space."
"Like my fortress, or your forest."
"Yes."
"And I am supposed to help him."
"So, it would seem."
She closed her eyes for a moment. Why, why, was nothing ever easy? She had no knowledge on how to do this. Sure, she'd built her fortress, but at the time didn't know what she was doing.
"Rot," she muttered. "Kei. Kei, I need you to pay attention and to listen. I don't have a lot of time." Giving his shoulder a shake, he focused on her again. "You need to make a safe place for the memories you have. That's all for now. Everything else you can fix later. Those," she gestured to the swirling shards, "won't be going anywhere."
"I don't know how. I don't…remember? Did I know?"
He looked so lost it broke her heart. "I don't know, Kei. But you can do it. In your mind, you can do anything. Make anything. This is your world."
He frowned at her, but nodded.
"I have a fortress in mine. Baelan has a forest."
Kei looked over her shoulder toward the Elf, then tipped his head to the side in confusion. "What is he doing?"
Turning, she saw the Elf sitting on the edge of the stone, legs hanging over. He swayed slightly as he hummed and swung his legs back and forth. She stared for a long moment, not quite sure what to say.
"He's strange," Kei said softly.
"You've no idea." Shaking her head, she turned back to Kei. "So, you understand what to do?" She leaned forward earnestly. "You have to wake up soon. I'll be there, waiting for you."
"I will, Aro. I promise."
Leaning forward, she kissed his forehead and then stood. "Baelan, I'm ready. Kei…" She struggled to get the words out as Baelan came to her side. "I love you. I'll see you soon."
"I love y–"
She wasn't quite prepared for the pain when she opened her eyes. Groaning, her body fell forward, only to be caught in strong arms.
"I swear, pup, you'll be the death of me."
Blinking up at Bo, she winced and closed her eyes again. Pain pounded her entire head. Every muscle ached. "How long?"
"At least half the day. Did you find him?"
A smile crossed her lips. "We did. He should wake up soon." Her smile faded. "He's so broken, Bo. Ugh, I need to use the privy."
"And then to bed with you." He easily gathered her up in his arms.
As he turned her and headed for the door, she saw Elaina helping Baelan stand. "Do I need to tell you to go to bed?"
He shook his head, face pale. "Not today."
Thank you, for everything.
Despite the pain evident on his face, he managed a small smile. You are welcome, my lovely.
She dreamt of her brothers. For once not nightmares, though perhaps those had come first. Muddled memories faded as she woke with a groan. Her head still hurt, and her body felt like she'd fallen off a cliff. Thinking of falling caused a shudder to run through her. Another thing to add to her list of fears. Hopefully she wouldn't start having nightmares of it, too.
Habit moved her hand out from her side, searching for Kei…and met nothing. Jerking up, she rolled over, eyes wide as she stared at the empty spot beside her. Her hands frantically, uselessly, patted at the sheets.
Her keening wail echoed in the empty room. She'd been too late. He was gone. Dead. Just like when Avery died, and they'd taken his body away when she wasn't looking. How could they? How could they not have woken her?
Keeeiii!
Shaking, blinded by tears, her stomach heaved and she lurched forward to vomit over the side of the bed.
Aro.
Kei? Kei!
He was alive. His surprise and worry hit her in the gut through their bond. Why hadn't she looked for it first before panicking? Perhaps she was losing her mind.
Gasping, her fingers curled into the sheets as Bo's voice roared into her mind.
Whatever you're doing, stop! Kei is losing control here and is going to drown in the rotting tub.
To Kei, I'm sorry, I panicked when you weren't here. Everything is fine.
>
To Bo, Sorry! He wasn't here and I thought… I'm sorry.
He sighed. He wanted you to sleep, he said more softly. Get some more rest. You need it. We'll be a while. I'm trying to get him cleaned up. Elaina's gone to the tavern to cook. I sent Baelan and Garen to the market.
She cleared her throat, wincing at the burn. I will. Sorry.
No worries, pup. Go back to sleep.
Falling back on the bed, she pushed her fingers against her eyes. Sweat beaded her forehead and she took a slow breath. The smell of her vomit made her nauseous and she sat up, blinking rapidly as the room swayed and she suddenly shivered.
Managing to stand, she grabbed a handful of cloths from the bedside table and threw them on the floor, swirling her bare foot around to somewhat clean up her mess. She noticed the empty bucket beside the table just in time to drop to her knees and be sick again.
Sides aching and eyes watering, she cursed when she finally finished and realized what was happening. "Rotting riath." After so long why was it back to haunt her?
She should have noticed the signs the last few days, her pacing and jitters, the occasional nausea. With her borrowed Fey power gone, it'd snuck up on her again. Maybe she would never be rid of it. It eventually killed humans, merely gave the other races dreams, and she was…something in between. Roan had never been certain what would work when he tried to break her addiction.
Bo, can you bring Kei to me as soon as you're done?
Of course.
She wanted to tell him. She knew she should, but hated the idea of being weak. Of them seeing it. She didn't want to see Kei again like this. Maybe it would go away. "I'm an idiot," she muttered. "At least I know I'm an idiot."
Another wave of heat washed over her. With a groan, she used one of the chairs pushed against the wall to help herself stand and then lurched for the bed. She missed, managing to grab some sheets to mostly slow her slide to the floor.
"I hate my life."
Aro, what's wrong?
Baelan's worried voice stabbed her between the eyes. She winced, pressing her lips together tightly. Him she would lie to. He was the last person she wanted to see right now. I'm fine. Just woke up and Kei wasn't here. Panicked a little.