“Mine too.” Ed settled onto the blanket beside his wife then nodded toward the foot of the bed when he saw a quick blur of movement. “We have company.”
“I see that.” Adelina covered another smile with the tips of her fingers when a tuft of blonde hair poked above the end of the bed and then disappeared again. “Nickaulai, you don't need to hide.”
The blonde hair popped up again, followed by two sets of small fingers that gripped the edge of the bed. Finally, a pair of blue eyes peered at them. She patted the bed next to where Ed sat. “Come here, dear. Come meet Meaghan.”
The child ducked below the edge of the bed once more. A moment later, he poked his head up again, then scurried to her side and climbed onto the bed as Adelina requested. He grinned as he focused on the baby in her arms.
“Does your mother know you're here?” she asked him.
He shook his head, and reached out to stroke the baby's arm, snatching his hand back when her mouth opened in a yawn.
“Don't be frightened,” Ed told him. “She's just sleepy. Do you want to hold her?”
Nick's eyes drew from the baby to Adelina. “Can I?”
“Of course. Come a little closer.”
He did as she requested, nestling his knees against her side before pressing an index finger to the baby's cheek. “She's pretty. Pretty Meaghan.”
“Yes, she is,” Ed said. “She's also fragile, so you have to hold her a special way. Do you want to learn how?”
Nick's head bounced up and down. “Momma says she's mine. She says I have to protect her.”
Ed chuckled. “Someday. For now, hold out your arms like this.” He extended his arms, palms up. Nick mimicked him and Ed removed Meaghan from his wife's arms. “Now watch me,” he instructed. He tucked the newborn into the crook of his arm, supporting her head. “See how I have her against my body with her head sturdy on my arm? Can you do that?”
“Yeah.”
“Good.” Ed placed the baby into Nick's outstretched arms and smiled when the boy drew her against his side, holding her as Ed had shown. Meaghan turned her eyes toward Nick and gurgled.
“She likes me,” Nick said, grinning broadly. Then he disappeared.
Adelina stared at the empty space on the bed before reaching a hand out to where the boy had been. Her fingers coursed across the blanket, then gripped it. “He,” she began, and then drew her eyebrows together. “What happened?”
Ed leaned over to kiss her. “Meaghan's okay,” he assured her. “Nick only started teleporting last week. He's not strong enough to go far. I'll find him.”
Adelina nodded, and then closed her eyes when Ed rose from the bed. As he had predicted, the young boy remained near. He sat on the couch in the living room, the baby nestled in his lap. Ed sat down next to him.
“You shouldn't do that,” he said. “You scared Adelina.”
Nick looked up at him, frowning. His arms tightened around the baby. “She's mine. Momma said so.”
Ed smiled and laid a hand on the boy's shoulder. “She will be one day, but right now she belongs to Adelina and me. It's our job to watch out for her.”
Nick's eyes filled with tears. Meaghan began to cry and the boy looked down at her. “It's okay,” he said, planting a kiss on her cheek. The baby calmed and he grinned at Ed. “See, I can keep her safe.”
“I know that, son,” Ed replied and lifted the baby from Nick's arms. He moved to the floor so the boy could still see her. “And when you're old enough, I'll be proud to have you guard her. But now isn't the time. You're too young.”
“I'm a big boy,” he said. “I have powers now.”
“So I saw. But you can't do that again. Promise me you won't.”
Nick's lip trembled, but he did not cry. Meaghan began to fuss again. “I promise,” he said, then stroked the dark hair on Meaghan's head. “One day, Meaghan.”
“Nickaulai!”
Nick dropped his hand, jumping from the couch at the sound of his mother's voice.
“What are you doing here?”
His eyes grew wide, pleading with Ed for escape. Ed patted him on the shoulder and stood, facing his wife's redheaded Guardian with a smile. “He wanted to see the baby, May. He did a good job holding her.”
“Is that all?” she asked. “He's been trouble lately.”
“That's all,” he assured her and looked down at the frightened boy. “Right, Nick?”
Nick nodded a bit too enthusiastically, and May narrowed her eyes, looking between Nick and Ed for the truth. Neither of them offered it, so she sighed, then sat down on the couch and drew her son to her. “It's time for you to stop coming to the castle,” she told him. “Now that you're getting your Guardian powers, you need to attend school with the other kids.”
Nick's eyes turned from his mother to the baby and back. “I like it here.”
“I know,” May said and though her son did not catch it, Ed heard a hint of sorrow in her voice. “The Elders have decided it's time for you to train to be in the Guardian army. Don't you want that?”
“But,” his eyes found Ed's. “But Meaghan's mine.”
His mother smiled, a gesture also laced with sadness. “When Meaghan is Queen, you'll protect her in the army. For now, it's time to go home. Say good-night.”
“I don't want to.” Nick's eyes filled with tears again, and this time they spilled over. Meaghan began to wail. “I want—”
“That's enough,” May said. “You've upset the baby.”
Nick sniffled and wiped his nose on his sleeve, obeying his mother.
“Now say good-bye to Ed and Meaghan and then go say good-bye to Adelina. And say you're sorry.”
Without bothering to ask what he should apologize for, he nodded. Ed crouched in front of him again, giving him the chance to see Meaghan one more time. The baby calmed.
“See you soon,” Nick told her. He planted a kiss on her forehead, and then scurried from the room.
“What happened?” Ed asked when the boy could no longer hear. “I thought Nick was supposed to guard Meaghan. Why is he training to be in the army?”
May sighed. “I shouldn't have said anything to him. I just assumed he'd be following tradition. My family's been watching Meaghan's for generations, after all, but the Elders decided to enact the rule.”
“What rule?”
“An old one that states a Guardian can only guard someone of the same gender.”
“Miles guards Adelina's sister,” Ed pointed out.
“I know. And she's the reason they're enacting the rule again. They don't want to risk the chance of another abdication. Especially if Meaghan's the purpose of your prophesied wedding.”
“That makes no sense,” Ed said. “It's not like they can keep Meaghan away from all male Guardians until she's wed. And it's not like Istera wed Miles. She wed someone from the army. If Nick and Meaghan are meant to fall in love, Istera's already proven that stationing him there won't stop it.”
“It will if they assign him to border patrol,” May muttered. “I'm sure that's their plan.”
A miserable demotion for the young boy, Ed realized, and frowned. “I guess there's no arguing on this,” he said, though he hated to admit it. He trusted no Guardian more than May, and he knew his daughter would be safest under the care of May's son. “We'll have to wait and see what happens. What do we do now?”
“We keep them apart. I don't want Nick to get attached to Meaghan any more than he already has.”
“Agreed,” Ed said and shifted the baby in his arms when she started crying again. “I should get her back to Adelina.”
May nodded. “I'll return after I take Nick home. And then you can tell me what really happened with him.”
Ed simply chuckled and left the room.
§
NICK AWOKE to the heavy darkness of the cave. A rare quiet surrounded him, a sign the world had long since fallen under sleep's command. He closed his eyes again to focus on the dream. He remembered it as he had seen it in the book
that afternoon, but he could not feel it the way he wanted. He could not relive the emotions or the sensations of seeing and touching Ed and Adelina as he had when he read the words. He could only see the images as they still existed in his mind. Soon even the vividness of those began to fade, dissolving into the dark as fast as the words had disappeared from the pages.
He wished he had had more time with the story. As soon as he had finished reading it, Meaghan had come to pack. They said little as he closed the cover over the pages. Then she left again. He had not remembered the day Meaghan had been born, nor did he remember his strong need to protect her from such a young age. It had consumed him, and as he grew older, it had overtaken him again.
His mother had not told him about his army assignment. She had continued to train him as a personal Guardian at home. It had been a gamble on her part, but it had paid off when Nick and Meaghan's matching powers surfaced.
Or rather, when everyone realized Meaghan's power had surfaced. She had cried when Nick grew upset and calmed when he calmed. Watching the past had made it clear to him. Meaghan had not been colicky as an infant. Her empath power had shown up at birth. She had been reacting to the overload of emotions surrounding her and had stopped fussing after a month only because she had learned how to focus her power on those closest to her.
He reached out to hold her and to tell her about his discovery, but his arms only met her pillow. He could not sense her anymore. Cal now had the honor of her guardianship, which meant they had left.
Nick tightened his hand into a fist, clutching the fabric of her pillowcase between his fingers. He could no longer protect her. He could no longer prevent the future from coming. And in that failing, he knew her spot in bed might remain empty forever.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
MEAGHAN'S HORSE whinnied. She calmed him with a gentle hand to the neck, and then cast a glance over her shoulder, toward the cave. In the soft glow of the full moon, she could make out the dark rock lining the entrance, but nothing more. She knew when she returned from Zeiihbu, if she returned, their home would be elsewhere. But she etched the view into her mind and her memory just as she had etched Nick's last words into her heart. It hurt to leave. It hurt more to realize the pain she had caused him—and the anger he harbored for her. Though he hid it from her, he could not hide it from her power. She had wanted to honor his request to stay, but she stood firm against him because she had no other choice.
He had always protected her. Now came the time for her to protect him.
“Are you ready?” The question came close to her ear.
“Yes,” she answered, and though she had barred the tears from her eyes, she could not keep them from shaking her voice.
“He'll forgive you,” Cal responded. He laid a hand over hers in understanding. “When you return to him, he'll forgive you.”
“Will he?” she asked. Her horse pawed the earth, ready to move, and she tightened her hold on his reins. The ambercat gloves stretched taut across her knuckles. “And what if I don't return?”
“You will, or we both won't. And frankly, I intend to see my son, so not returning isn't an option.”
Meaghan smiled, her determination renewed with his decree. A bird whistled, long and low from a distance to the right and she pointed her horse in that direction. Faillen waited, as did the others. It was time.
Turning once more in her saddle, she cast a final glance toward the cave, and then pressed her knees into her horse's sides and vanished into the night.
The adventure continues with
ÆRENDEN: THE ZEIIHBU MASTER
Coming in 2014!
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I cannot publish a book without giving my utmost regard to my editors and beta readers, the great line of defense against errors. For catching those little (and big) things that slip through after my umpteenth read, I heartily thank Jessica Lux, Heather McBride, Karen Giera, Steve Giera, Brigid Gory-Hines, Trish Hanson, Amy Hedges, Jo Reed, Cheri Schueller, and Sabine Veasey.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Born in Bangor, Maine, Kristen Taber spent her childhood at the feet of an Irish storytelling grandfather, learning to blend fact with fiction and imagination with reality. She lived within the realms of the worlds that captivated her, breathing life into characters and crafting stories even before she could read. Those stories have since turned into a wide range of short tales, poems, and manuscripts in both Young Adult and Adult genres. Currently, she is working on the Ærenden series from her home in the suburbs of Washington, D.C.
Learn more about Kristen and her work at www.kristentaber.com.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Table of Contents
Copyright
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Aerenden: The Gildonae Alliance (Ærenden Book 2) Page 28