Sundered

by Bethany Adams

  One last chance. With the last of his strength, he shoved his magic against the iron, trying to convert it with Arlyn’s spell. A fine time to realize how much he wanted to live. If this failed, well… He might not have been captured, but he wouldn’t have an easy death.

  So much for mercy.

  Chapter 14

  Meli shook the runes yet again and let them drop onto the stone bench beside her. When nothing happened, she groaned. The swirling lines refused to settle into a solid pattern, even when she asked to find easy things, like the stream on the other side of the garden. So much for showing her paths. Over the two hours since Pol had needled her into working with them, she had stuffed the runes back into their bag more than once and resolved to leave them there.

  Maybe it was because she was searching for things that weren’t lost. She was a stranger here with few belongings—nothing of her own to find and no one who needed help. Sighing, Meli swept the runes into her hand and ran her thumb along a smooth surface. Could the runes’ first success have been some trick of the mists? Pol could have been mistaken—or he might have manipulated the entire situation. He could have controlled the runes without her knowing.

  Or maybe she was too distracted. Part of her—the most foolish part—wanted to see Lyr, despite all the reasons to avoid him. Not that he’d want to see her. The look in his eyes when she’d told him a match between them wouldn’t work…Meli shuddered at the memory. Had she ever seen such despair?

  “Let me do this on my own.”

  Meli’s head jerked up at the querulous words, and she blinked hard at the sight of an elven woman leaning heavily on a white, wooden staff. Though she visibly trembled, the woman shot a dark look at the elf walking beside her. The healer, if Meli wasn’t mistaken. As she stared, he steadied the woman again, earning another glare.

  “If you fall, you could undo—”

  “You said my spinal column was fully healed and my muscles only need strengthening,” the woman said, her brows lifting. “So let me strengthen them.”

  Meli couldn’t hold back a gasp. What could have injured an elf so gravely? The Ljósálfar could be hurt, of course, but she couldn’t recall seeing one of her own people so nearly crippled. She clutched the runes against her stomach and tried to look small. Maybe they’d pass by without noticing her. Surely, the woman would not be pleased to have a stranger see her weakness.

  Unfortunately, Meli didn’t have the power to make herself invisible. Her movement must have caught the woman’s eye, for she paused to look at Meli before hobbling a few more slow steps closer. “Good day to you,” the lady said with a smile. “Please forgive my interruption.”

  Meli frowned in confusion. “I’m afraid I don’t understand. How could you be interrupting me?”

  “A guest’s comfort is paramount here,” the woman answered. The healer moved between them, though he kept giving the lady worried glances. From the words Meli had overheard, he was probably afraid the woman would topple. “If not introduced to the household, guests are given their privacy.”

  “Oh,” Meli said. No wonder the gardens always appeared empty. “I should probably return to the tower. I don’t want to deny anyone the use of the gardens just because I’m here.”

  The woman smiled as she hobbled a little closer. “There’s no need for that. You’ve met Lial, correct?”

  “I…” Meli glanced at the man again. “I think so. If I’m not mistaken, you’re the healer who examined us after we arrived. And you healed my headache.”

  “I see I’m memorable,” he muttered, then chuckled at her wince. “Ah, forgive my ill humor and allow me to introduce you. This is Lady Lynia Dianore, Lord Lyrnis’s mother.”

  Meli’s cheeks cooled as the blood rushed from her face—probably to join her stomach at her feet. Lyr’s mother? What had he told her? Did she know that Meli had rejected her son? Freyr help me. “I’m…my name is Ameliar Liosevore,” she choked out. “But please call me Meli.”

  If Lyr had said anything, Lady Lynia gave no sign, her expression just as pleasant as it had been a moment ago. “It is a true pleasure to meet one of the Ljósálfar. I’d pay my weight in gold to have accurate books on your history and culture.”

  “You’re a scholar?” Meli asked, relaxing a bit.

  “Oh, yes. I—” The lady’s words cut off, and she swayed on her feet. The healer darted forward to steady her. “Lial…something…”

  For a long moment, Meli’s head spun, and she lifted a hand to her forehead. Bile rose up the back of her throat along with a sick sense of dread. What…? She shook her head to clear it as the healer lowered Lady Lynia onto the bench beside her. Lial knelt, taking the lady’s hands in his own.

  “What is it?”

  “Lyr.” Face ashen, Lynia stared at the healer. “I thought I caught pain from him. Now…now I can’t detect him.”

  Meli felt her eyes go wide. Had she sensed Lyr’s pain, too? It would explain the sense of apprehension. “You think he’s dead?” she whispered.

  “No,” the lady answered. Her worried eyes pinned Meli’s. “I would have felt that. It may not be the same for the Ljósálfar, but we Moranaians share a link with our children. He’s in trouble.” Lynia turned back to the healer. “We have to find him.”

  Lial didn’t look at Meli as he swept the lady into his arms and started up the path, but his voice echoed back as he hastened away. “I’ll take you to the study and call for Kai. If there’s a trail, we’ll find it.”

  If there’s a trail… Meli’s chest squeezed, and she forced herself to release her breath. Then take another gasp of air. Could she do it? Breathe out. Could she use the runes to find Lyr? Breathe in.

  She’d just spent hours failing. Surely the Moranaians had people more skilled than she. But the memory of Lady Lynia’s stark, desperate fear caught at Meli, and her hand tightened around the runes.

  Too bad they couldn’t show her the best way forward.

  She yelped as light flared from between her fingers and her hand began to tingle. Trembling, Meli dropped the stones onto the bench once more. The light settled to a soft glow, and she gasped. The emerald green line she’d followed through the mists speared from the center stone. It took a few more moments for the other shapes to settle, their energies weaving around the green before they too shot into the distance.

  And suddenly she knew. The light she’d followed through the Veil hadn’t been to Moranaia. It led to Lyr.

  As did this light.

  She gathered the stones back into their pouch and jumped to her feet. The magic carried her beyond what was currently visible—beyond the estate and into the valley she’d admired her first evening here. Her mind’s eye rushed from the valley floor up to a small, hidden glade, where the glow ceased. She couldn’t see Lyr, but she sensed he was there. And the path to him didn’t move.

  I should find the others. But she didn’t. Meli’s entire body shook with the urge to follow that green line, and she found her feet propelling her forward. Though she had no weapon, though she knew it was foolish, she gave herself over to the power. She passed through Lyr’s home without escort, her feet and instincts taking her into a side door and all the way to the front entrance.

  She couldn’t speak to the puzzled bodyguard who trailed her as she stepped out the front door. She could do nothing but follow where the magic led.

  “You can’t sense him anywhere?”

  Arlyn tried to keep her voice calm, but panic set in with the darkness. The barest hint of twilight remained, leaving the rising first moon to guide them. Thank goodness Kai was familiar with the terrain. The rocks and ancient trees were a maze she never could have navigated on her own.

  “Nothing.” Kai’s voice caught. “It’s like he never passed through here.”

  Just a few weeks before, she hadn’t even met her father. Now the thought of never seeing him again terrified her. “Could he be hiding himself magically?”

  Kai stopped to lean against a boulder. “Possibl
y, but he’s expecting me to follow. He should have left some sign. Some way for me to contact him.”

  “Maybe the tavern keeper was wrong about the direction.”

  “Arlyn, I…” He squeezed her hand, his eyes somber. “I just don’t know.”

  She understood what he didn’t want to say. That chances were good that her father had been captured—or killed. Arlyn gripped her bow tight. It would be next to useless in the dark, especially against an assailant they couldn’t see. But her bow was as much comfort as defense, and she was still barely passable with a sword.

  Her shoulders straightened with resolve. “We have to keep trying.”

  “I never said we wouldn’t.” Kai scowled, his frustration pouring through their soulbond. “I can’t believe he left by himself. What the hell was he thinking? It’s the kind of thing…well, it’s something I would have done.”

  “Would have?” she asked with a lift of her eyebrow.

  “Before you,” he murmured, and his expression softened for a moment before he pushed himself away from the stone.

  They climbed to the next clearing, this one as depressingly empty as the one before. They searched every bit of ground they could find, but they saw no signs of passage. No footprints—not even a bruised leaf. Arlyn bit her lip as she watched Kai examine a small pile of moss-covered rocks. How were they ever going to find her father?

  Kai stiffened as a rustling sound broke the peaceful silence. He gave a quick signal, and they darted behind a giant tree, its huge roots providing extra shelter. Carefully, they peered over the side, and Arlyn was grateful for her elven eyesight. Though the forest had darkened with shadows, she could still discern the difference between trees, rocks, and trails.

  As though nature held its breath with them, the noises around them stilled—all but the shifting of the brush. Someone was coming, and the newcomer was not being subtle. Beside her, Kai drew his knife, and Arlyn nocked an arrow in her bow in case she found a clear shot. Unlikely in the gloom, but better than doing nothing.

  When Lady Ameliar stumbled into the clearing, Arlyn’s mouth dropped open in surprise. It could be no accident that the elf had appeared here, so far away from the estate. Were the Ljósálfar involved with whatever had happened to her father? Her heart ached with the realization that her father’s potential bonded could be a traitor.

  Or perhaps Ameliar was drawn to Lyr through the soulbond.

  Resolved to find out, Arlyn stood. “Lady Ameliar!”

  Kai tried to tug her back down, but she pulled free. The blond elf barely turned, her eyes unfocused. “Meli. By Freyr, why won’t any of you call me Meli?”

  Though he huffed out a sigh, Kai followed Arlyn as she approached the dazed woman. He fussed at her through their mental link, but she ignored him as she grabbed Meli’s arm. “What are you doing out here?”

  “Can’t you see the green line?” Meli whispered. “I must follow it.”

  Arlyn gave Kai a worried glance. “I’m sorry, but I don’t.”

  “I think it goes to Lyr.” Meli lifted the bag she gripped in her right hand. A soft light pulsed through the seams. “I’ve been following and following, but he still isn’t here. Close, though. Much closer.”

  “Alive?” Arlyn couldn’t help but ask.

  Meli shook her head as though trying to clear it. “I’m not sure, but I think so. I think…”

  Arlyn let her go, and the woman lurched forward, not sparing them another glance. After sharing a nod with Kai, they turned as one to follow Meli—their only hint at Lyr’s location.

  Their only hope.

  Chapter 15

  This was nothing like the mists. Meli’s heart pounded as she fought to gain a measure of control over magic that had taken over her world. She’d managed to surface enough to speak to the red-haired girl—her daughter?—and the girl’s mate, but that hadn’t lasted for long.

  Her daughter? Meli shook her head and gasped for breath. What was she thinking? This power had muddled her mind. Too much for her. Arlyn. The girl was Lyr’s child, not Meli’s.

  She heard rustling behind her, but she couldn’t make herself turn to discover the cause. The green line of power drew her ever harder. Over that rock and around that tree. Climb the downed trunk. Meli caught the sound of a thump and a muttered curse from Arlyn’s mate as they followed her beneath a fallen branch. She could spare nothing more than a sympathetic wince as the magic carried her forward.

  By the time she reached the summit, the moon’s light filtered through the branches to give the forest a silvery glow. She stumbled to a halt, staring at the spot where the green path disappeared into a dark opening between two huge mounds. Had this been part of her initial vision? Everything looked different at night. But though her feet slowed and her mouth grew dry, Meli couldn’t help but approach the place.

  She yelped when a hand wrapped around her arm.

  “I am sorry for startling you, Lady Meli,” Arlyn’s mate whispered. “There’s a hidden clearing there. Let me go first to ensure your safety.”

  Meli fought against the draw of the runes, but she managed to allow him to dart ahead before she followed. Her hand clutched the pouch as she slipped between the two mounds and into a moonlit clearing—this one far from undisturbed. The scent of crushed flowers filled the air, and she followed the green line to a seemingly empty spot near the far side.

  She heard Arlyn’s despairing voice behind her. “There’s nothing here.”

  When the path of power ended, Meli sank to her knees and fumbled along the ground. Her hands didn’t find the grass her eyes saw—they sank into fabric-covered flesh. “Here. Here.”

  She pulled at the cloth, frantic. When it was removed, Meli could finally see him. Lyr’s face glowed white under the moon, and his eyes were closed. The girl cried out behind her and rushed to his side, but Meli barely paid heed. Blood, black as the night, coated his light tunic, the moon’s gleam giving it a sick sheen.

  It’s too late. For the barest moment, her heart seemed to stop.

  Then she heard him groan, so low she almost missed it, and she could breathe again. She tossed her head to clear it of the last traces of magic and then looked up at the others. “What do we do?”

  “Maybe Arlyn can teleport us. She did it when I was attacked a few weeks back.” The male looked over at the girl. “Do you think you can?”

  “I can try.” Arlyn placed her hand on her father’s shoulder as her mate grabbed her hand. “Meli, hold on to my arm.”

  Meli reached across Lyr and gripped the girl’s arm, perplexed but willing to try. Her magic was so slight that she knew little of how it worked. Arlyn’s eyes closed, and her brow pinched in concentration. Moments ticked by as they waited, until finally the girl jerked her hand free in frustration.

  “It won’t work. I’m willing us back as hard as I can, just like when you were hurt, but nothing,” Arlyn said in a quivery voice. “I need Selia.”

  The male sank down next to his mate. “I’ll see if I can stabilize him. I have enough healing talent for that.”

  Meli stared at the glow that sprang from his hands as he hovered them over Lyr, but she could see little difference when the light faded. She squinted against the sudden dark, searching for some sign of improvement. “Did you heal him?”

  Arlyn’s mate shook his head. “I only had enough power to stop the bleeding. I think there’s iron in the wound. We’ll have to get him to Lial.”

  “Is he well enough to move, Kai?” Arlyn asked.

  Kai merely nodded and bent to lift Lyr, the move effortless. Meli studied the crushed grass to see the large pool of blood reflecting the moonlight. Lyr had been invisible under that cloak. Without her power, he wouldn’t have had much longer to live. He might have never been found.

  A shiver going through her, Meli followed the others as best she could. She was fit and strong, but her speed was no match for Kai, clearly accustomed to this clime. As she stumbled on another rock, her footing less sure without th
e magic to guide her, another hand gripped her arm. Even Kai and Arlyn paused at her startled scream.

  “At peace, milady.”

  Her pulse calmed at the sight of the guard who often trailed her, the one she’d tried to talk to at the estate. Kai stared for a moment and then nodded at the pale-haired male who held her before turning to go. “You followed me this far?” Meli asked.

  “As my Myern commanded. I can carry you down if it would not cause you discomfort. I train in these woods and can make greater speed.”

  The idea did cause her discomfort—but not as much as falling behind in the ancient forest. Without the glow of power to guide her, she would get lost quickly in the darkness. “Very well.”

  When Kai swung through the doors of The Middle Ground, the place was empty, a few of the tables pushed together next to the anxious healer. Thank all the gods Lial had come this far. With each step of their eternal descent, Lyr had grown weaker, his breathing shallower and his skin cooler. Kai might have thought his friend dead without benefit of the healing magic.

  Kai stretched Lyr out as gently as possible and stepped back. “I got much of the bleeding stopped, but with the iron in the wound, I’m not sure why I could work on it at all.”

  “Let’s see.” Lial placed his hands over the gash now visible across Lyr’s chest and stomach and released his power. His look of concentration changed into a frown as the glow faded. “You’re right but…not. I believe he tried to convert it. Ayala, could you finish what he started so I might better heal him?”

  With a nod, Arlyn held her hands over her father, her power pulsing around them for several moments. As soon as she finished, Lial nudged her aside, and the blue glow of his magic lit the room. Then his assistant stepped forward with a needle and thread and began to sew the wound in Lyr’s stomach.

  “I told him not to do this,” Merrith muttered as they stood aside to give the healer room.