Maybe that made me a bad person, but with so much going on, it was hard to remember every single aching pain in my life.
“Did my Rhodes ever tell you how his parents met?” Lanya asked as she looked off into the distance at one of the windows.
I followed her gaze and watched as birds with double wings and long, flowing tails flew into the air, cascading down into a beautiful array of lights and sparkles.
There was a song in the distance, and it pierced my heart.
I knew that song. It was one of sorrow and pain, though I didn’t know exactly how I knew that.
“That is a sorrow dove,” the lady said under her breath. “The territory is learning of my daughter’s death, and the birds and those of the air are mourning with us.”
I cleared my throat. “It’s a beautiful song.”
“She was a beautiful girl. Stunning, and so sweet. She was never frail, not like she became later on in life. She wanted to be a warrior, and I was always scared that she would succeed. I was afraid that she would die in battle because of what the old king fought. And then the Fall came, and she stayed in her castle, safe. Or so I thought.”
I just stood there listening as the Lady of Air spoke, trying to imagine what it would be like to know thousands of years and have so many memories in your head that you had to shuffle through them to try and remember each and every detail. I didn’t think I would ever be able to do that, but then I remembered that I might reach that age. Though I didn’t think so.
I didn’t think the prophecy of the Spirit Priestess would end well. But that wasn’t something I was going to think about right then.
If ever.
“My daughter wanted to be a warrior like that Aerwyna of yours. She wanted to be everything. But then she met Rhodes’ father. I hadn’t wanted her to marry a lord. There’s so few of us, only the four of the territories. The offspring get the titles as well, of course, but it depends on the family as to what they are called. The children lose their titles once they grow up or grow out of the territory itself. Or the title moves to the next person. It’s been five hundred years under the rule of the current King of Lumière, and changes don’t happen often. The fact that there is a new king in the Obscurité Kingdom is something far different. Further change.”
She looked at me then.
“Most don’t remember that with a new king comes change. Sometimes, for the good. I always liked Queen Cameo, though I probably shouldn’t have. She was kind to me, though she didn’t need to be. We were near the same age, and we grew up together—although far apart. She wanted change, and those around her didn’t. She was not like the Lumière king, my king, the twin to my son-in-law.”
She shook her head. “But all of those stories are for another day. As I was saying, your Wyn, the daughter of the Lord of Earth, is a warrior. She fights with that Frederic of yours,” the lady said with a wink.
I stiffened.
No one was supposed to know that Easton was under glamour, but then again, others with magic were always around us, and I remembered that Rhodes’ grandmother was a Truth Seeker, something that was passed down in Rhodes’ blood, just not fully. Lanya could sense the truth of others. Perhaps she could see through glamour, as well. And Rosamond was a Seer. I wondered what Áine’s power had been. Though I wasn’t sure she could have used whatever it was. It looked as if the life had been pulled from her. And in the end, it had.
The Lady of Air reached out and patted my cheek. “Don’t look so worried, my husband and I know who lies under that glamour. He didn’t see, of course, but I told him. I don’t keep secrets from my husband.”
Her gaze went far away for a moment.
“We were good people, and we tried to keep our territory whole and safe. But sometimes it’s not easy. Sometimes, we have to make decisions that hurt others, and it takes part of our souls in the process. But we always try to be on the side of good, on the side of right. Though sometimes those two don’t end up on the same side.”
She shook her head as if clearing her thoughts.
“I’m sorry, but my mind is running in a thousand different directions today, and I’m not making much sense.”
“I’m following you. Say whatever you need to say.”
“Your Wyn is a brilliant warrior. That is who my Áine wanted to be. And so, we let her train, we let her learn. Because I refused to clip my daughter’s wings. My husband eventually learned to be understanding.”
She smiled then, but it didn’t reach her eyes. This poor woman. All I could do was listen, learn, and try to help.
“And then we went to the court under the old king’s guard because there was a ball that we had been forced to attend. We were the Lord and Lady of Air then, as well. Therefore, we were required to attend. The current King of Lumière was the Lord of Water then, his father being the King of Lumière at the time. It’s all very incestuous when you think about it, but titles go to eldest sons or daughters if there are no boys. And so, we went to the court with the others and brought Áine with us. She couldn’t wear her battle gear because the old king hated the idea of women in power.” She snorted. “It would have been a surprise to him that the King of Obscurité’s daughter, Cameo, would one day become queen. He would have hated it.”
Lanya smiled then, and I smiled with her.
“My daughter Áine was forced to wear clothing that spoke of a daughter of the Lord and Lady of Air. She was a lady in her own right, a lady of the Lumière. A simple title that is often called a princess—or prince for the males—although only in hushed whispers if they aren’t actually within the court. All the words mean is that you’re somehow connected to power. It doesn’t really mean anything in the end.”
Lanya shook her head and then continued. “Áine was forced to dance with all of the noble brothers then. Brokk, the former Lord of Water, now king of the Lumière Kingdom, was already courting Delphine, Rhodes’ aunt. But Áine didn’t have eyes for him. Instead, she had eyes for Durin. The other twin. The younger brother.”
“It’s odd to think about them as young…as people finding their loves,” I said softly.
“They were your age at the time, it was that long ago. Áine had eyes for Durin, and there was nothing I could do. He was sparkly and a warrior and he made her feel like no one else ever had—or so she said. And so, she fell for him. And we could do nothing but stand back and let the marriage happen. Brokk and Delphine married around the same time as Áine and Durin. It was the idea that their children would grow up at the same time and be like siblings. Although they didn’t have Eitri, Rhodes’ and Rosamond’s cousin, for many years. My daughter had Rosamond first, over four hundred years ago. And then she had Rhodes two full centuries later. But Rhodes and Rosamond are as close as twins, no matter their age difference. My daughter was a good mother. And she tried to be a good wife. But I know that every time we tried to visit, seeing her became harder as the centuries passed.”
It wasn’t lost on me that the Lady of Air spoke of her daughter in the past tense. It was as if she’d lost her Áine long ago and time had finally caught up.
“Áine was no longer the daughter of Air, no more a future warrior. Instead, she was a centerpiece, a piece of lace to be strewn upon Durin’s arm as he showed her off to his brother. She didn’t fight in the Fall, none of us did. Not really. My husband and I tried to fight you see, but the king wouldn’t let us. He banned us from unlocking our powers, so we couldn’t actually fight and save our people. You see, he wanted to keep the blood pure. And that was why we fell. Why our power broke. Why the kings died, and there was nothing left but ash as we tried to rebuild.”
She shook her head, and I reached out and ran my hand down her arm. She took my hand tightly in hers, and then loosened her grip, though she didn’t let go.
The lords and ladies hadn’t fought in the Fall? The great war that had split the realm as it was so the crystals had to work harder? No wonder the realm was failing. Their leaders had been held back, bound by
their kings to surrender to the nothingness.
“My Áine became a shadow of herself. I knew she was becoming frail, so unlike the girl that I had raised, the daughter I loved. But there was nothing I could do about it because she still loved Durin. And she loved her children more than anything. She told me once that she felt more for them than anything she could have felt as a warrior, and I believed her because I loved my daughter more than any power I could have as a lady of the Lumière.”
Lanya turned to me then, tears falling down her cheeks, but her chin raised. “I never wanted my daughter to marry a lord. I wanted her to have peace. But maybe she found peace.” She shook her head and looked at me. “Peace. Such a small word for a rather momentous thing. You are the Priestess, Lyric. You can be so much. You could be the one who takes out the rot that has overtaken our kingdoms, our entire realm. You could be so much and save us from ourselves. The Spirit Priestess is more than a title, it’s a calling. You are not meant to be a queen. Not a king. You are not a leader. You’re a savior. But in order to know what you need to save, you must know your people.”
I swallowed hard, transfixed. This was the most anyone had ever said to me about what I needed to do. I couldn’t look away. “I’ve seen the territories, the people, and I know they need hope.” I hadn’t meant to say the words, but they seemed right.
“You are that hope. And when you find the right time, the key, you will be able to unlock the final two elements and save us all. Because, yes, the realm is dying. The people are doing much the same. My daughter is dead. We need you. You need to ensure that Rhodes and Easton find a way to repair the rift. Because they need to be the future.”
I blinked, wondering what on earth that could mean. They were the future? Then what was I?
She must have seen the confusion on my face because she continued. “You are our future, but so are they. Easton is the King of Obscurité, he is one of our paths. And Rhodes will be the other.”
I shook my head, trying to keep up. “But isn’t Eitri the heir to the Lumière Kingdom?”
Lanya nodded. “But Rhodes is the future.”
And then she squeezed my hand and left me alone to my thoughts on everything that she had just given me. She wasn’t a Seer, and yet she spoke of truths and futures that didn’t make any sense to me. Had Rosamond told her something? Or had she seen the truth somehow?
There was so much history, so much depth within this realm, but it was fracturing, turning to ash as she had said.
Rhodes and Easton were the future of the realm, but I was the savior.
If only I knew what that meant.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
The trip to the Water territory was uneventful compared to our journey to the Air territory. On our trip to Rhodes’ grandparents’ estate, it had felt like everything was stacked against us. From mythical creatures to the League and the Creed of Wings, so much had come at us, trying to kill us in unimaginable ways.
In comparison, this trip was almost serene. As much as it could get considering that we were headed to the Water Estate for the funeral of the Lady of Water.
So, no…not serene at all.
But a deep sense of mourning and confusion cloaked us like a sickly second skin. One that tightened with each passing mile as the airships moved over the land and sea of the Lumière Kingdom.
I didn’t know how to help, so I sat there, listening as the Lady of Air spoke, and the Lord of Air ordered.
Unlike the previous trip, we weren’t alone. Instead, the Lord of Air had brought a lot of his men with him, and some of the court who had wanted to go and mourn their former princess.
It was odd, though. Because while I knew we were headed to a funeral, to a place where Rhodes would say goodbye to his mother, it also felt as if we were going into battle.
I knew that shouldn’t be the case since this was Rhodes’ father, his other family. And yet something felt off.
It could be that I was just picking up on the very obvious undercurrents of how the Lord and Lady of Air felt about their son-in-law.
There was clearly no love lost there. I didn’t know if it was because of how they’d felt about him before, or now.
After all, all they could see was what their daughter had turned into, year by year as her life slowly faded in the presence of her husband.
And from what I had seen of Lanya and her husband, I didn’t think they would have just stood by and let it happen.
They must have tried to stop it. Must have tried to do something.
But the politics when it came to royals was so far out of my purview, it wasn’t funny.
But I was learning. For now, though, I just had to sit back and watch.
“We’re almost there,” Easton said, standing up to start pacing again.
He had been doing that often lately, as if lost in his own thoughts. I didn’t know what to say to him. Something had changed between us since I found out that he had lost his soulmate and learned that whatever I was feeling for him wasn’t what I thought it was. That he wasn’t mine. It was almost as if he knew that I knew and was now keeping his distance. Only, he wasn’t really. He was just keeping emotional distance, and I had no idea what that meant exactly.
But he and Teagan kept taking their turns pacing along the extended deck of the airship we were on. Wyn and Arwin spent most of their time with Rhodes up front, either talking to him or just standing near him. I didn’t know exactly what that was about, but I had a feeling that Wyn’s emotional Seeing or whatever she called it, was drawing her to those who needed her.
I just sat there, sometimes talking to Rhodes, sometimes talking to the Lady of Air.
I took it all in, wondering how I could help.
Easton sat next to me then, and I looked over at him. “I know we’re almost there,” I said, not knowing if he needed a reply. “You can tell by the landscapes. We’re starting to actually have land rather than just the sea.”
“We’re moving far faster on the way back than it took us to get there.”
“Well, we haven’t had a Kraken come at us yet,” I said drily.
“Let’s not risk bringing that one on, shall we?”
“Yeah, I’d rather not see another Kraken ‘til the end of my days.”
“If you see another Kraken, it’ll be the end of your days.” He leaned back on the bench where I sat and rubbed his temple.
“What’s wrong?”
“Other than the fact that the Lady of Water is dead, and I have a feeling that it’s only the beginning?”
I winced, looking around just to make sure no one was listening. Thankfully, everybody was busy getting ready to reach our destination and weren’t paying attention to us.
“Yeah, other than that.”
“I just have a headache. It’s fine.”
“Do you need to rest or something?”
“No, using so much glamour after all this time isn’t the best for me. I didn’t realize we’d be gone so long.”
I sat up, alarmed. “Is there something we can do? Do you need to go somewhere and hide so you can drop the glamour? Or maybe you could, I don’t know, use some of my powers or something. Is that a thing?”
He gave me a small smile, and my heart leapt. I stomped that down quickly though. It meant nothing.
“No, I don’t think that’s a thing. But, thank you for offering.” He winked, looking like the old Easton. It was almost as if we were back training and everything was okay. But it wasn’t. It never would be again. I had known that before, so it shouldn’t be a shock now. And, sadly, it wasn’t.
“Oh,” I said lamely.
“And I can’t drop the glamour because I’m also holding back some of my power beneath it.”
I leaned closer so I could hear him. “I didn’t notice.”
“Because you can see through the glamour. And, well, other things.” He shook his head as if not wanting to finish that line of conversation. I wanted to know what he’d meant, but I knew if I asked, he wou
ldn’t answer. “Anyway, as soon as I let go of the glamour, I’ll be at my full strength again, and everyone will be able to tell who I am. There’s no hiding the king,” he whispered.
“Wait, you haven’t been at your full strength this whole time?” I asked, leaning forward, stiffening.
“No. I had to hold back some of my powers to keep the glamour on. That’s why we keep getting so close to death.”
“Because you weren’t able to use everything that you had.”
“Yeah, but it was either that or not come at all. And I don’t want to think about what might have happened if I hadn’t been here.” He looked at me then, and I swallowed hard.
What was he searching for? What was going through that mind of his?
I knew there was more that he wanted to say, more I wanted to know, but he didn’t say any more. Instead, he looked at me for a few moments longer and then stood up and started pacing again.
Teagan took his place near us, and I frowned. “What’s wrong?” I asked, echoing my statements from earlier.
“Easton’s stressing out, and if he’s stressing out, then I’m stressing out.”
“Well now that all of you are stressing out, I guess my stress levels are increasing, too.”
He snorted and looked over at me. “Easton doesn’t stress. He’s calm, methodical. For a Fire Wielder, that’s practically unheard of. His mother was the same way, though.” An echo of pain washed over Teagan’s face, but he quickly dampened it. “Easton sees a problem, looks for a way around it, and then blasts his way through it. Usually, anyway. But none of us can actually see what’s in front of us now. It’s like there’s a block. And it’s annoying him because he’s worried that something’s happening that he can’t stop or even figure out what it is to begin with. And if he’s worried, I’m worried. Because I’m his backup. I need to make sure he’s safe so he can protect our kingdom.” He shrugged as if the weight of the world weren’t on his shoulders, as well.
I reached out and gripped his hand, giving it a squeeze. He looked startled by the contact for a moment, and I realized that I didn’t really know Teagan that well, other than what we had learned about each other during our travels. I was closer to Wyn and even Arwin, but Teagan was a little more remote. He laughed, but he was still a warrior that took everything seriously in order to make sure that his king was safe.
From Flame and Ash: An Elements of Five Romance Page 26