“Just let me catch my breath.”
She rubbed her eyes with numb fingers, blocking the sight of the trophies now scattered in the grass. Her weak arms shook at the movement. Even her legs trembled, though she’d been sitting. Thankfully. She would have toppled over had she not grounded herself, physically and magically, so thoroughly before she began.
As Arlyn dropped her fingers, her ears caught the sound of crackling. Brow furrowing, she peered around the clearing but saw only trees, grass, and scattered body parts. Kai’s hand closed around the hilt of his sword as he swept the area with a searching spell. Finally, he shook his head.
“I don’t—”
The crackling ended with a roar, and the crystal pulsed with murky light. Her heart dropped at the odd sight. She flinched back, lifting her hands to her face as the crystal shattered. Dark magic swept through, stealing her breath. Then there was only darkness.
Chapter 29
“In all my centuries of life, I have never broken my word.”
Naomh paced his bedroom, his hands running through his hair until the long strands began to tangle. Caolte hadn’t seen his brother so agitated since his mate had disappeared five hundred years ago. Beneath their feet, the stone floor trembled ever so slightly. If Naomh didn’t gain control, he’d shake the whole place down.
“Nor have I,” Caolte said. “But it seems you must choose which oath means the most.”
“Perhaps not.” His brother halted, brown eyes resolute. “I’ll kill Kien. I never swore not to do that. Maybe then I can dismantle his work. I may not be a healer, but my affinity for earth is strong.”
A slow smile stretched across Caolte’s face. Finally, a plan he could agree with. “I would relish the chance to burn that one. You should never have dealt with him.”
“No.” Naomh strode to his wardrobe and pulled out a cloak. “Though the poison should have never seeped below. He broke his word and, in so doing, has earned his death. Come. It may not be night, but today, we ride.”
Caolte followed his brother, more than ready. Naomh had raged about Meren’s failures for a solid day. It was good to see him with a plan, however fragile. And once the poison was gone, they would deal with their brother. Meren’s dishonor could never be allowed to stand.
Light filtered through Arlyn’s consciousness with the pain. Every muscle in her body ached. Maybe even her bones. She cracked one eye open and groaned. Kai’s weight pressed against her side, the contact increasing the agony where they touched. An answering moan beside her revealed that she wasn’t the only one who hurt.
Kai pushed himself upright. “What the hell was that?”
Every muscle screamed in pain as Arlyn sat up beside him. “Guess we should’ve considered there might be a counter spell in the stone.”
“Ralan should’ve mentioned it,” he muttered.
“Must not be too serious if he didn’t.” Arlyn ran her hands through her hair, shaking out the dust from the shattered stone. Both she and Kai had small abrasions, but the pieces hadn’t been large enough to cause true damage. “I’ll live.”
They leaned against one another and tried to catch their breaths once more. As Arlyn forced her muscles to relax, she began to question Ralan’s idea of simple. Simple would not have left them both drained in a heap in the middle of the Great Smoky Mountains, dismembered limbs scattered around them.
“Still think you can get us back?” she asked.
Kai’s arm slipped around her waist. “I’ll have to. Gods only know what else that counter spell might have done. Alerted Kien for sure.”
“If there was a chance he’d return, don’t you think Ralan—”
“You can never rely on a seer.” Kai released her and pushed himself to standing. “Not necessarily because they’re cruel or dishonest. Their glimpses of future probabilities are limited, constantly changed by choices almost impossible to anticipate. Strands shift before they even know it. For most things, seers are reliable. Ralan especially, considering his power. But always have a back-up plan.”
Ralan’s head shot up, and the room around him faded. He heard his mother’s voice from afar before even that disappeared. Unrelenting, the vision pulled him in. The bread he’d held was gone, the taste of honey replaced by the tang of fear. Who was he? Something gripped his body tight. Suspended. He could see nothing. Then another voice.
In moments, he’d returned to the small dining room where he’d been sharing breakfast with his family. They stared at him, their food forgotten. But he had no time. The chair scraped as Ralan shoved away from the table. His mother jumped at the sound, and her face lost its color. He couldn’t reassure her. Instead, he turned to Teyark.
“I need you with me.”
His brother stood, along with Corath. “We’ll both go.”
Ralan studied his brother’s bonded. “Can you fight?”
“Well enough,” he answered, exchanging a glance with Teyark. “We practice each day, and my sword bears enchantments.”
Although panic rode him, Ralan took a moment to consult the strands. Then nodded. “Come on, both of you. There’s little time.”
As his brother and Corath followed him to the door, the king stood. “Where are you going? What’s wrong?”
Not daring to stop, Ralan glanced back over his shoulder. “If I take the time to tell you, I doubt you’ll like the future you receive.”
Kai helped Arlyn with her pack, settling the awkward weight as gently as he could. He’d used a little more of his precious energy to heal the worst of their pain, but both of them were slow and achy. The spell in that crystal must have been a potent one. Even now, Kai struggled to pull his magical shields into place. They’d been virtually shredded. Kien must have prepared for the Moranaians to interfere in some way, for the counter had been perfect against their type of magic.
But Arlyn concerned him the most. The energy she’d gathered to release the spell had blown away with the golden light of the crystal orb, leaving her practically empty. If Kien returned, she would be the most vulnerable. Fear tightened his already sore body. The spell Selia had placed in that globe shouldn’t have drained Arlyn’s immense natural reserves, not even after she’d had to convert the iron.
What had gone wrong?
His bonded tied her bow to the pack she carried, since she was too weak to wield it. Her hands were still a little numb despite his healing energy, but that meant little considering his lack of talent in that skill. Kai linked arms with Arlyn, lending her his weight, and they retraced their steps through the center of the camp. Too bad he didn’t have the energy to set the whole mess ablaze.
A tug on his senses had him stopping. “Did you feel that?”
Arlyn barely glanced around. He hated the dazed and exhausted look in her eyes. “What?” she whispered.
“I thought I detected a tug of portal energy. We need to move.”
Kai pivoted toward the side of the camp with the headless corpse. Not his preferred route, but they couldn’t go the direct path if someone was coming from the portal. As they shuffled around a crumpled tent, Arlyn staggered, and her steps became halting. When he looked down, her face had gone a pale white.
“I don’t feel…” She shook her head. “Something isn’t right.”
He’d never get her through the portal in this state. “You need energy.”
Before she could argue, he gave her more from his reserves. Arlyn straightened, restored enough to glare at him. “Too much.”
“We have to go. Now.”
They rushed through the camp as quietly as possible, only to be halted by a flame-haired male astride a black horse. For a moment, Kai thought it was Pol, but a second glance revealed the man to be Sidhe. A ball of flame danced in his hand as he smiled. “What have we here?”
Miaran. Was this the traitor who had helped Kien? “We have no business with you.”
The male ignored him, his gaze flicking around the clearing. “Where’s your master, children?”
Kai bristled. �
��I am no one’s servant. We’re not—”
“I’d believe no words from one found in this place.”
“What is he saying?” Arlyn’s hand tightened around Kai’s arm. “Doesn’t sound good.”
Kai grimaced. Arlyn had been given the Moranaian language but didn’t know that of the Sidhe. “I believe he thinks we’re part of Kien’s group.”
“I could say the same,” Kai answered the Sidhe, careful not to glance at Arlyn to reveal their other discussion. “You interfere in the business of Moranaia. Though considering your recent atrocities in Neor, I shouldn’t be surprised.”
“À sleinte!”
The voice sounded from behind him as the spell hit, cutting through his fragile shields. Kai turned his head for the source as he struggled for more energy. Lial could heal him later—as long as he could stay alive. He had to get himself and Arlyn out however he could.
Another Sidhe rode behind them, brown eyes flashing from atop his white horse. A pleased smirk crossed his face. “Grem au.”
Even as energy began to fill Kai’s depleted system, roots burst from the ground beneath them, wrapping around their ankles and curling up their legs. Kai cursed and pulled Arlyn closer as he prepared a counter spell. Branches leaned from the trees above, hemlock needles pricking as they wrapped around the arm where Kai gathered energy.
The flame-haired man rode closer. “Still yourselves, and I won’t burn you alive.”
Little sparks danced around them, and wood closed around their limbs. Not a good combination. Kai let his hand drop. These were Sidhe lords, ancient and powerful. He would have trouble escaping them even at full energy. Reasoning with them would be his best hope, especially with Arlyn’s condition.
“You have no cause to hold us.”
“I must disagree.” The blond man spurred his horse around to stand next to the other. “You’re coated in Kien’s magic in the middle of a camp full of bloody remains. If we can’t get to him, well…you’ll be coming with us.”
Lyr shuffled through papers and tried to concentrate on the numbers. Though his muscles ached with tension, he turned to the next report with all the calm he could muster. Business, at least, was going well in the village, even if the rest of the worlds had gone mad. He skimmed through accounts of transactions for the various shops. His people primarily traded for what they wanted, only using precious metals and gems when a reasonable exchange wasn’t possible. Only rarely did Lyr have to intercede to settle disagreements between the parties.
Sighing, he looked out the window to see Meli speaking with a Moranaian woman in the garden. Telia, the seamstress. Though Meli had grown comfortable with him, losing much of her hesitation, he could see her unease with Telia in the set of her shoulders. At least he’d spared Meli a formal presentation to the household, introducing her to a few and bidding them spread the word.
The door crashed against the study wall, and the reports crumpled under Lyr’s fingers. Out of reflex, he shot to his feet, instantly on guard. Ralan strode through the doorway, Teyark and Corath behind him. Lyr slammed the paper he held onto his desk and leaned forward.
“A fine way to return after you ran away without a word.”
“Stuff it, Lyr.” Ralan stopped across from him, and for the first time, Lyr noticed a hint of fear etched onto the seer’s face. “Arm yourself. We need to go.”
His heart lurched as he rushed toward the door. His friend never joked about such things. “What’s wrong?”
“Something happened. The futures were clear, I swear it,” Ralan said, trailing behind. “I should have seen this possibility, but it wasn’t there. Fucking Sidhe. By now, they probably have Kai and Arlyn.”
Lyr halted so abruptly that the others almost slammed into him. “What?”
“We need to find them. Now.”
With a curse, Lyr spun, slamming Ralan against the wall. His hand closed around the prince’s throat. “You said there was no danger. I trusted you.”
“There wasn’t.” Ralan made no effort to escape, his wide eyes panicked. And more desperate than Lyr had ever seen him. “I give you my word. But there are many futures from this point where they can be saved. Stop arguing with me and move.”
“I don’t care if your father flays me alive over a pit of iron for treason,” Lyr muttered. “If they die, you will, too.”
Ralan’s jaw clenched, but he nodded. “There is much for us to settle. Later.”
Lyr released him without comment, his focus shifting to the coming mission. He darted through the halls and ran up the stairs to his room. It took him only moments to arm himself with his sword, bow, and knives. He grabbed a small pack of camping supplies he kept in his closet for spontaneous trips he rarely got to make. When he turned back, the cloak Selia had spelled for him caught his eye. She had modified it so he could allow others to communicate, though they would still have trouble pinpointing his location. He swirled it over his shoulders and clasped it.
At a knock on the door and a shout from Ralan, Lyr suppressed a moment of satisfaction. Served the seer right to worry. But he didn’t prolong it, opening the door to smirk at the prince. “Wondering where I went? Imagine that.”
Ralan glared at the cloak. “We can argue my absence later. Is that thing necessary?”
“It could come in handy.” He closed his eyes and triggered the portion of the spell that would allow Ralan, Teyark, and Corath to sense and communicate with him. “There. Where are we going?”
“All I can see is a Sidhe hill held by one of their lords. An old family.”
Lyr scowled and headed for the stairs. “That’s it?”
“I’m not a fucking GPS,” Ralan spat. At Lyr’s look, he sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “Sorry. Earth term. I’m not a map. I don’t know the location of everything in the universe.”
Lyr glanced back over his shoulder. “So your plan is…?”
“I…” The prince hurried to catch up, expression stunned. “I thought a path would come clear, but I don’t know the way to this place. It could be anywhere.”
“Once again, you are useless.” His hands clenched to stop their shaking, Lyr glared. He knew it wasn’t Ralan’s fault any more than the previous events, but his sick rage had no other target. “I can’t lose them. They’re my only family, except for Meli.” Then it hit him. “Meli!”
“What of her?” Ralan asked, eyes shadowed with a pain that made Lyr want to apologize for his harsh statement. “Is she a guide?”
“She found me when I was injured, remember? Perhaps she can use her runes.”
Ralan nodded. “Find her.”
Still sensing her presence in the garden, Lyr darted toward the closest exit. He looked back at his friend, who hesitated at the base of the stairs. “Ralan, I—”
“I know.”
“No, you don’t. I shouldn’t have said that.” Lyr rubbed his hand across his face, unsure how to put his feelings into words.
“I have failed you at every turn lately.” The prince’s expression hardened. “I will not do so again.”
“Come, then. We’ll save them.” A grim smile lit Lyr’s face. “Together.”
Chapter 30
Meli let out a long breath as the seamstress departed. Her first true encounter with a Moranaian who wasn’t a close friend or relative of Lyr’s. It had gone better than she’d hoped. At least she thought it had. Telia had been polite and cheerful, and if she was unhappy about helping with a new wardrobe, Meli couldn’t tell.
A pulse of rage swept through Meli, so sudden she almost doubled over. Gasping, she wrapped her arms around her waist. Lyr. “What happened?” she sent, instinctively reaching out.
“Arlyn and Kai are in danger. Start walking toward the portal, and I’ll meet you. I need to have a quick word with my mother.”
The connection dropped, but the urgency pouring from him told her enough. Meli spun, her heart racing as she hastened through the garden. She wasn’t entirely certain which path was the best, but she
could sense Lyr nearing. She hadn’t gone far before he emerged from another trail to her left. Her brows rose at the sight of the three princes following behind him.
“Lyr?” Meli whispered.
He skidded to a halt, grabbing her hands. “Something went wrong on the mission.”
“What?” The words hit like a blow. “You said danger. Are they…?”
“Ralan believes they are alive, but we aren’t certain how to find them.” Lyr flicked an angry look at Ralan before his attention returned to Meli. “Can you guide us?”
Her brow wrinkled. “Me?”
“Your runes can find what is missing.” His hands ran up her arms to her elbows. “We need your help.”
“I…” Meli bit her lip. He wanted her to guide them? She’d almost gotten an entire group lost in the mists. “Are you sure? I’m still learning how to use the runes.”
Lyr dropped his forehead to hers, and his voice lowered so the others couldn’t hear. “Don’t listen to doubts borne of your past. You saved me. Now help me save my friend and my daughter—the daughter of your soul.”
Meli gasped at the hurt of it. Blood-souls, the fairy had said. How could she not try to save Arlyn? She grasped Lyr’s arms, leaning into him for a moment, before she pulled herself away. Her back stiffening with resolve, she nodded.
“So long as you know the risk,” she said. “I almost lost the others.”
Ralan stepped forward. “You won’t lose us. That I know.”
Lyr’s lips flattened into a thin line, but he only swung around and headed down the path. Meli followed, glancing over her shoulder at the prince. Ralan stared after, his expression closed and tight, and then nudged his brother forward. She had no idea what had caused the disagreement between Lyr and the prince, but there was no time to find out. They needed to focus on saving Arlyn and Kai.
When they reached the stone arch of the portal, Meli drew up short at the sight of Eri sitting calmly on a log, clearly waiting. This can’t be a coincidence.
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