Quince’s face turned serious. “I’m not so certain of that.”
“What do you mean?”
“I think they were both touched by something. Something that changed them fundamentally.”
“Changed them how?”
“I don’t want to say too much. But they have a destiny, those two.” She poked him in the chest. “You’d do well to remember that.”
He pondered that for a moment. It sounded like superstitious claptrap. But then so had the whole bit about shifting worlds. “What happens next?”
“How do you mean?”
“Do they send Oberon back once the crisis is over? Can they split the world again?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know. The rocthane was destroyed.”
“The what?”
“The key that made the shift possible. In the end, only intervention by an outside force made it happen.” She looked away. “We may all be stuck here in this new universe.”
It was a lot to think about. “Thank you for filling me in.” He glanced back inside the small room, where Xander and Jameson sat together. “I’ll do whatever I can to help.” He tried not to think of Xander’s touch. His kiss.
Her gaze narrowed. He could see her thinking what are you up to?
Even Alix didn’t really know.
QUINCE FOUND Robyn outside the room, which was little more than a closet, watching Alix breathe with Lyrin in the weak flickers of lantern light. “You okay?”
Robyn shook her head. “I’m home, but I’ve never felt more disconnected.”
“I know. It’s… weird to be here again.”
All of this had to be strange for her. She’d last held Davyn as a baby. He was both strong and humble, as a good king should be. This was clearly his kingdom now, not Robyn’s.
Robyn was pale, like a wraith, a ghost in the halls, stripped of her wings and her pride. Quince pulled her close. “We’ll figure it out.”
Robyn nodded. “Being here… it brings back more than just good memories.”
“Of course.”
“It was brutal. The Cattorah. They held me down on the floor. Kadin sawed them off, one by one…. Moonrise help me, Quince, it was the most painful thing of my life.”
Quince shivered. The Cattorah was something once practiced among the skythane dark ages, when their people had first come to Oberon. Criminals, murderers, pederasts had been landed, stripped of their wings and left to fend for themselves. It had been abandoned in modern times, because to land a skythane was tantamount to gutting their soul, a fate worse than death.
“You’re alive, though. You’re here with me now.”
Robyn nodded. “I am. But I’ll never feel the wind through my feathers, or spiral through the clouds under my own power again.”
“You’re still the queen. Wings or no.”
Robyn laughed ruefully. “I suppose I am. Though Xander’s the king now, so I suppose I’m a queen in retirement.”
“Maybe so.” Quince kissed her. “There are worse things to be. We’ll work it all out.”
XANDER GESTURED for them all to gather in the hallway, leaving Jameson to rest. He wished he could cuddle up next to his Errian prince, but there were decisions to be made, and time was drawing short.
Alix had surprised him. He’d gone out of his way to help Jameson come out of the memory storm, despite the fact that Jameson was with Xander now.
Why were the memories affecting Jameson so strongly? Where had they come from, and what did they have to do with the shift and the long, strange history of Titania and Oberon, of Erro?
He had no answers.
“Xander!” Someone was shouting his name, running down the hallway toward them.
He turned to find Alia all but barreling into him. “Slow down!” He was laughing. “Breathe.”
“Sorry. It’s….” She paused to catch her breath. “A lander ship just flew over the city.”
Xander frowned. “Here on Titania?”
“There is no Titania anymore, remember?” Quince nudged him. “This is Erro.”
Of course. “It’s a surveillance mission.” He’d known this was coming. Time really was running short.
Alix nodded. “I’d say so.”
“Mylin, is there somewhere we can meet privately? We need to make some decisions, and quickly.”
“I can find a place for you to talk—”
“You’re part of this too.”
“I… I don’t…,” she stammered.
She was stronger than she knew, and he wanted her there. “You’ve taken a place at the table. Don’t back out on me now.”
“I won’t, my lord.”
“Xander.” He grinned.
“Xander.” She beamed. “Come on. It’s this way.”
Every room along the hallway showed signs of habitation, although he suspected most of the skythane were out working to secure the city. “How many inhabitants are there?”
It was Robyn who answered. “About three thousand in and around the city.”
Xander whistled. “That’s a lot of mouths to feed.”
“We’re gathering as many of the scurf as we can find in a safe pasture above the city.” Mylin opened the door to another room. The armory, by the look of it. The wall was hung with shields, and there were racks of swords and vases filled with arrows. There were also now a few pulse rifles.
“Scurf?”
“They’re like cattle,” Quince supplied. “Six legs, lots of meat. A little slow, but you gotta watch the horn.” She put the lantern on a round pitted wooden table in the middle of the room and closed the door behind them. “Good choice.” She nodded approvingly at Mylin.
“Thanks. I’m having some keff brought in to keep us awake.”
Xander liked the Titanian version of coffee, though he missed the real stuff. “Pull up a seat.” Xander grabbed a wooden crate that looked sturdy enough to hold him and sat down at one end of the table.
Everyone found a place to sit.
“Could Dani and Kadin have reached Oberon City yet?” Xander asked.
Quince frowned. “I don’t see how. It’s half a world away from here. Unless they were picked up by a hoversport.”
“We can’t rule it out.” He scratched his chin. “Gaelan and Errian are in imminent danger. They may not have believed in the shift before, but OberCorp won’t take long before they try to establish control over the new world order.”
“Maybe they’ll just leave us alone?” Mylin looked hopeful.
Xander shook his head. “I love that you think that, but I doubt it. They’ve been the aggressors, every time. When they first took over Oberon, we fled here, hoping they would leave us alone. Now they’ve come after us again, occupying this very city.”
Alix frowned. “They see themselves as the rightful owners of Oberon… of Erro.” He glanced at Quince, who nodded. “How in the hell did you pull this whole thing off, Xander?”
It was strange, having Alix nearby again, and he still wasn’t entirely sure of the answer to that one. “It’s a long story, one that started before we met. Though I didn’t know it yet. The bigger question is, can we reverse it? If so, how long do we have to hold them off?”
Quince raised her hand. “The flare lasted at least a week the last time. Ten days to be safe.”
Xander whistled. “That’s a long time.”
She stared at the table. “And we’re not even sure if there’s a way to undo the shift, now that the Mountain is in ruins.”
That had been bugging him too. Why had the shift been accomplished without such destruction the last time, by Elyra and Daedus? Or had it? What if they couldn’t reverse it and return things to the status quo? Were they forever cut off from their old lives, the Common Worlds, all of it?
Titania… or Erro… was his home now, but still—he wasn’t sure how he felt about that.
“We’re in no shape to fight them here,” Robyn said, drawing their attention. “I’m not sure it’s even possible to stand
up to them with blades and arrows and shields and a few pulse rifles, in any case. But as things stand now—”
“Ballifor,” Quince whispered, but she had everyone’s attention.
“What’s Ballifor?” Alix asked.
“It was Quince’s hometown.” Xander frowned. “It was destroyed by some kind of bomb.”
“Holy shit. With all the skythane here… it would be a slaughterhouse.” Alix’s statement hung in the air like a sword.
“Maybe so. But we have to remember that OberCorp’s force isn’t an army. It’s primarily a security force, which gives us a chance if we can exploit it.” He sighed. “In any case, I agree. We need to evacuate the city. What’s left of it.” He’d hoped things would get easier once they’d accomplished the shift, but they had only become more complicated. “What are my options?” He looked up at Robyn and blushed. “Perhaps you should be leading this discussion, Mother. You are the queen, after all.” Mother. It was a strange word on his tongue.
She shook her head. “I lost the throne, and even if I had not, I would abdicate it for you now. The people look to you. You have to lead them.”
“Fair enough, though I’ve got shit-all experience at it.” He laughed ruefully.
“We could send them to the faery caves,” Quince said.
“I’m listening.”
“The mountains above Gaelan are riddled with caverns like the one you took shelter in. They were left by the old ones, or so the rumors go. Some of them are stocked, like the waystations, for times of need.”
Xander got up and paced back and forth, thinking. “That sounds good. We should send children, the elderly, and the injured there post-haste.” They would be out of harm’s way, at least for the moment. He had enough death on his conscience.
“And the rest?” It was Mylin.
“We go to Errian.”
ROBYN STOOD on the House of the Moon’s battlements in the moonlight, wrapped in a white shawl, looking out at the destruction below.
Xander watched her from the shadows.
Fifty dead. That’s what Mylin had told them, and that was on top of casualties elsewhere caused by his actions. It must be killing her too. “Mother.”
She didn’t turn around. “I’d hoped it would be you.”
Xander came to stand beside her, surveying the damage in the silver light. Somehow the moonlight helped take some of the sting out of it. “It’s hard to look at, isn’t it?”
She nodded. “Hundreds killed by Dani and the OberCorp forces during their occupation. Every one of them a black mark against my name, and now this.”
He wept for the destruction in the valley. The city had been broken, a tangled mess of stone and mud like the Mountain before it. Things would never be set back to the way they had been before.
“If I’m honest with myself, I’ll admit that it had already fallen, long ago.” She turned to look at him. “My time here is over.” She put a hand on his shoulder. “You must rule over Gaelan now.”
He put his hand over hers. “I don’t think I’ll be very good at it. I’ve made such a mess of things.”
She pulled him close and cradled him in her arms. “Nonsense. I remember how it felt to hold you as a child, to want to protect you from all harm. How weak and dependent you were.” She took a deep breath. “You’re a grown man now, and everything I hoped you might become. You don’t need me. Not anymore.”
“I do need you,” he protested. It was barely a whisper. He had a mother again. She soothed a rough place in his heart that had been barren for so long.
Robyn’s eyes flashed with anger. “You don’t. You’ve been gone from me for twenty-five years. Quince made sure you grew up strong.”
He hugged her tightly and then let her go. “What did Dani do to you?”
Robyn snorted. “I lost my wings. Isn’t that obvious?”
“It’s more than that.” He stared into her eyes. “Kadin must have cut something else out of you as well. Quince told me all about you, what you were like when I was a child. The woman she knew wouldn’t just give up.”
“I haven’t given up.” She pulled her shawl tighter around her as if seeking its warmth. “You have no idea what I’ve been through.”
“Tell me, then.” Xander touched her cheek with the back of his hand.
She turned away, shaking her head. “Another time. Don’t worry about me. I’ll find my way.” She kissed his forehead. “I’m so proud of you. You will lead the Gaelani back to glory.”
Chapter Seven: Dreams and Visions
ZAXXIM FLEW on gossamer wings, their claw extended to touch the wingtip of one of their lovers.
Xiini flashed them one of their smiles, their skin nearly translucent and shimmering in the afternoon sunlight.
“Are you ready?” Xiini was beautiful, their skin aflame with sunlight, their pointed ears and lopsided grin making Zaxxim’s hearts beat faster, their lower heart thumping against their stomach.
Zaxxim nodded. They took Xiini’s hand, and Xiini pulled their key from their chest pouch.
Verrim flew on their other side, their violet crest quivering with excitement. They were a perfect triad.
Xiini twisted the key, and a waygate opened in midair ahead of them. Together, the three of them dove through it, emerging over the Great Sea just as evening fell.
They released hands and spiraled down toward Bolcà Isle, a beautiful extinct volcano surrounded by tropical foliage, whose broken walls sheltered a crater lake, in the heart of the Great Sea.
The war would go on without them. They had earned a break.
A weekend away was just what they needed.
Jameson woke slowly. He had a splitting headache.
He opened his eyes. He was in a small dark room, somewhere in the House of the Moon, he guessed. The memories seemed to have fled for the moment, but the strange dream lingered in his head, as did the sensation of Alix’s hand resting on his chest.
The man had helped him, something Jameson wasn’t sure he would have done if their positions were reversed. And there had been something else there between them too—energy. An attraction.
He shoved that thought aside. Xander was the one for him. Alix was just…. Alix.
He slowly became aware of someone in the room next to him, the sound of soft breathing. He propped himself up and turned to look at who it was. His head throbbed in protest at the movement.
Xander.
He was seated against the wall on the floor, his black wings resting over him like a blanket.
Jameson watched him for a moment. He was so quiet, so peaceful like this. The cares of the world had slipped from his shoulders, and he was just Xander once again, not the King of the Gaelani.
“Hey,” he said softly.
Xander stirred and opened his eyes, looking up at him. “Hi. You okay?”
Jameson nodded. “I’d kill for a pain-blocker,” he deadpanned. He didn’t suppose Gaelan had reached that level of technical sophistication yet.
“Yeah, sorry. None of those around here.” He sat up, his wings slipping behind him. “I’m glad you’re awake. How are the memories?”
Jameson looked around. “They seem to be leaving me alone for the moment.” He rubbed his temples with his thumbs. “What did I miss?”
“OberCorp buzzed the city with a hoversport.”
“That can’t be good.” The world was rushing on without him, and he’d have to play catch-up.
Xander shook his head. “We’re evacuating the young and elderly to the faery caves—”
“Faery caves?”
“Like the one we holed up in.”
“Ah. And the rest?” He scratched the spot between his wings, calming the itch there.
“We’re going to Errian.”
Jameson took a deep breath, and then nodded. “I’m needed there.”
Xander looked him over appraisingly. “Are you ready for the responsibility?”
“For what?”
“To be their king?”
Xander chuckled. “I’m still not.” He stood and stretched his arms and wings. “Do you think you can travel?”
“I think so. What time is it?”
“A little after midnight. We helped get the refugees out of the city while you slept. We plan to leave with the rest of the Gaelani in the morning.”
Jameson stretched his own wings. “You’ve raised me an army.”
“I guess you could say that.” Xander helped him up.
“Slowly. Headache, remember?” He got to his feet and put a hand against a wall as his legs threatened to buckle. “See? Good as new.”
“Jameson, I’m worried.”
“About how much time we have?”
“Yes. It will take us four or five days to get to Errian. OberCorp could have forces there in a fraction of that time.”
“Maybe not.”
“They’re just across the sea, now. And they have hoversports.”
“No, I know that.” Jameson rubbed his forehead, wishing the pain would go away. “I mean, it might not take us a week to get there, at least some of us.”
“Really? What are you thinking?”
“Take me to Quince. She’ll be able to tell me if it will work, or if I’m just plain crazy.”
Xander side-eyed him as he helped Jameson out into the hall. “What do you have planned in that strange offworlder head of yours?”
Jameson managed a wan grin. “You’ll just have to wait and see.”
They made their way upstairs, emerging at last into the courtyard of the castle. Bandia shone silver in the sky, and a cool wind blew through the courtyard. Water trickled from the fountain in the center of the wide space.
The bodies were gone.
Xander noticed his glance. “They were burned, down by the river. My mother led the ceremony, invoking Gael, the moon god. It was quite beautiful.”
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