A War of Silver and Gold

by Minerva J. Kaelin

  He chuckled as she glared at him angrily. “I am known as Tadgh.”

  There was no doubt that Aine and Tadgh were two beings moulded for each other. They shared the same amount of foolish humour and the same sharp tongue.

  “Right,” she shook her head rolling her eyes. She still couldn’t believe that she hadn’t caught up on the hints about Aine being a Lam. A bloodthirsty, vampire Adanei. “Where is this place exactly?”

  He huffed. “Deep in the forest.”

  “A very specific answer, as if I bloody know a thing about this forest.”

  He stopped before a door and turned to look at her, every hint of merriment gone from his features. A shudder went down her spine, cold chills reached around her hands as he glared at her.

  “I am warning you to watch out for Aine’s words. She knows you want it, but you must ask for it,” he tilted his head and frowned. “Gracefully, let’s say.”

  She glared at him as he pushed the door opened and motioned her to walk inside the room. She opened her mouth to ask what he meant, but she shook her head and taking her chances as she stepped inside the chamber.

  It was mostly dark, despite the magical lights that illuminated around the circular table, Aine was seated on a chair that closely resebled her throne. She looked up from her plate and smiled at Cassia, not sinister, but something was unsettling.

  The majority of the room was dark, dark enough that the only thing Cassia could see was Aine and the table. She swallowed hard and moved to sit on a chair opposite from the lam’s. The last thing Cassia wanted was dinner and especially dinner with a manipulator such as Aine.

  Aine’s hair was pulled up in a braid around her head, her brown eyes -under the fine cover of the darkness- showed that piece of gentleness sparkling inside the Lam Mother. Cassia averted her eyes, her throat bobbed as she pushed aside those self-loathing thoughts aside. Gentleness was far from the things she thought Aine would inflict upon her.

  “You must forgive Reyna for hitting you; she is my new Captain,” Aine said, tilting her head and raising her glass to her lips, sipping slowly.

  Cassia attempted to maintain an unfaltering facade over her. She gritted her teeth and kept her hands away even from the wine.

  Oh! I could have given anything for a bottle of Flamebolts...

  She blinked as she spoke in a sharp manner. “Get to the point, Aine. I am not in for small talk.”

  Aine’s smile deserted her features as she pressed her lips firmly together. “You want the Necklace.” She placed her hand over the jewel as her back slacked against the seat.

  Cassia rolled her eyes sardonically. “Ah! Well, you are a Lam Mother after all; it is natural for you to sneak into other people’s business.”

  The lam smiled evilly as she crossed her arms over her chest. “I wonder how the almighty Heir allowed her shields to drop and the King to sneak inside.”

  Cassia’s eyes betrayed nothing, not a fling for feeling or remorse. The lam mother could go to hell. Cassia took that little part of her that requested she shivered in terror and threw it in a box somewhere in the back of her head. She locked it and melted the key effortlessly. She clenched her jaw, her hand lingering on the handle of her sword.

  “You already know everything. Why should I bother to answer?”

  Aine wetted her lips and grasped onto the velvety arms of her throne. “You are full of sentiment.” She threw Cassia a sharp look. “Full of it. I can feel it,” her eyes seemed to glow even in all the darkness around them. Aine’s cold glare forced Cassia to purse her lips and tip her chin up, contemplating on the correct time to sneak away.

  “Fear,” Aine said tilting her head. “Abandon.” She pulled her seat back as she stood, her sharp, pointy nails grazing over the wooden table as she made the circle towards Cassia. A glowing goddess of Truth, Aine never allowed her gaze falter from Cassia’s face. “Hatred.” She took another step. “Need.” Her nails scratched the wood and a chill went down Cassia’s spine. “Loyalty, compassion, patriotism,” she tilted her gaze as she took another step and stood beside Sia’s seat. Aine’s eyes lingered on the silver plate on the table, the faint moonlight reflected against the silver as if attracting Aine’s eyes to inspect and survey. “Love, loneliness.”

  Cassia pounded her fist onto the table and rose from her chair, glaring at the lam with all the spite she could muster. “How dare you?” Cassia’s voice came sharper than she thought, but it didn’t falter. “You know nothing about me.” She shouted, her hands itched with the sparkles of magic, but she kept it down, reminding herself that if she were to use magic the King would know.

  Aine remained there unflinching, her hands hanging at her sides. “It was not my intention to anger you.” She shook her head as she glanced back at Cassia, her eyes spoke of sincerity, but Sia could barely bring herself to trust her. “I’ll give you a choice, my friend.”

  Cassia gritted her teeth, a pain shot through her spine. “I never had the privilege of choosing.” She shook her head. “I have no other choice.”

  Aine smiled, warmly and somehow her sweet smile got inside Sia’s head and reached towards her frozen heart. “The King will ask for a truce to get you back,” Aine began and looked away out of the window. “You can take the Necklace or you can choose to let it go.” She bit her bottom lip as she turned her eyes back at Sia. “You can choose loyalty and love instead of hate and fear.”

  Sia kept her mouth closed because she knew that she could only spit venom in that moment and not words.

  Aine huffed and nodded as she closed her eyes. “I can see it,” A radiant smile took over her lips. “There is an interesting path to take if you choose loyalty.” She opened her eyes and her face changed into one of terror. “Death,” she shook her head. “So much death takes after the path of fear.”

  Cassia heart pounded so fast, she almost felt it leave her rib cage. Her breath came so fiercely that her lungs hurt. Cold sweat overtook her and her vision became blurry. She knew that Lam Mothers had the gift of foresight; it should have been no surprise to her.

  She wanted to laugh, she did. Some charlatan Lam talking about her future as if she was another pawn in a greater game. She tried to laugh, but nothing came. Fear had already taken roots inside her mind. It was so strong and so unfaltering that it terrified her.

  She eyed Aine carefully as the lam pulled her hands up and took off the necklace. She smiled weakly at Sia as she gathered it in her palm and let it rest onto the table beside them, the heavy gold clicking in mock.

  “You can be noble and good. You know what to do, you do, deep inside you. You are not wicked, Cassia. You’ll care vehemently for those you’ll love.”

  Aine raised her hand to touch Cassia’s cheek with her palm, but the heir took a step backwards, avoiding her hand. Sia never felt comfortable with other people touching her, not when she was so angry and so torn between what she knew was good and what she knew was her duty to the King.

  “I have no one to love.” Cassia finally said, her voice firm, but terror was evident around the carefully placed words. “My mate’s dead, the least I have to do is serve the King.”

  Aine shook her head, her brows knitting together in an expression of grief and regret. “You chose to run for us because you could take no longer the wickedness of the King. You have a noble heart.”

  “Still, I have no one to love.”

  She tilted her head and smiled. “That is for you alone to find out.”

  Cassia shook her head, chuckling hysterically. “Even if I won’t take the necklace, you said the King would take me back.” She shook her head, her laughter ceased to nothingness, but her words stung with the worst kind of venom. “Do you have any idea what I have to do to ensure that he doesn’t suspect?” Cassia’s heart clenched inside her chest as a pain shot through her being, engulfing her mind. “I can’t do this.” She shook her head again, averting her eyes from Aine as panic gripped strongly about her and like a vine grasped over her soul, pulling her
down to the pits of the Underworld where she belonged.

  Aine moved forward, her hands grasping firmly around Cassia’s arms, steadying the spasms of her shoulders. She turned Cassia towards her, fingers digging into her skin firmly, but Sia didn’t care that moment. Her mind and soul had gone over the edge and were ready to fall into pits full of fire and demons.

  Where I belonged...

  Cassia tried to shake her consciousness as violently as she could, but her mind, her soul was too far gone, too far away, somewhere, enclosed in a box where all her fears were slowly becoming her only reality.

  “You know what to do,” Aine smiled warmly. “You know that either way there will be pain, mental and physical. But,” she shook her head. “You are the saviour of our lands; you are the saviour of our kind.” Aine’s eyes sparkled with hope and Cassia wanted so much to pull away from all that... all that unwavering hope.

  “There is so much light inside you that cannot be suppressed. You will unite us, you will unite the world against the King. You are good, you are noble, you-”

  Cassia screamed then, so much that her throat hurt. She could take no longer of all those lies that this lam fed her with so much passion. She could take it no longer.

  She was a killer, a being so coated in the miasma of blood and death that her very bones reeked of it. She was the death of whatever good existed. Minutes ago she was ready to give up everything and ran back to the King with the Necklace. She was evil, the worst thing that ever happened to the world, to Aethos, to the universe.

  Now... now she wanted to crawl back to whatever place she came from and die. It would do so much good to the world if she just vanished from it and never show her face in daylight again.

  She pushed Aine away from her, her eyes filling up with tears, so many tears, her ears thrummed with the melody of death, that sweet incantation and yet so much terror engulfed it. She braced her hands onto the table as rage overtook her, so passionate and so strong that she doubted she had ever felt before.

  She gritted her teeth firmly as she glared at the Necklace on the table. “Who is my mate?”

  “I don’t know,” Aine whispered. The world had suddenly grown so still and silent. “He is hidden from me.”

  Cassia’s breath came in short gasps. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t take it.”

  There was a long pause, a gap in time where only Cassia’s heart echoed through the vaguely empty room. The wind blew into the room, but the two females remained there, glancing fiercely into each other’s eyes. A battle of wills, a battle of sharp glares and so much unmentioned words. When Aine spoke again in a hushed voice, Cassia’s world crumbled to pieces.

  “Your son will be the first to peacefully rule over all the elves.”

  The heir trembled.

  My son...

  Tears rolled down her face, hot and demanding of her not to take the Necklace. Her mind pulsated inside her skull, her blood ran through her arteries and veins and she could listen to its flow so clear. She could feel the rumbling of the earth beneath her feet; she could feel the air whooshing by around the forest.

  Her heart was in so much pain and her soul... her soul was cracking in places she didn’t know existed. She sobbed silently as she pressed her eyes closed and imagined her son fulfilling the destiny that Aine spoke about.

  She trembled again, the cold air from the window drying the tears on her cheeks turning them stiff and itchy.

  My son... My son...

  It went over her head, again and again, she tried to get used to the idea no matter how far off and foreign it sounded.

  She swallowed hard as she took her decision. Not for the sake of her soul, but for the sake of those that had done nothing bad to the world.

  Cassia’s head turned to the side, glaring at Aine and clenching her jaw.

  “Don’t dare follow me.”

  She flung herself up over the table, the heels of her boots tapped loudly with every agitated step she took, every liberating step. She hauled herself over the handrails around the terrace and jumped. Not caring of the height or where she was inside this long, endless forest.

  The wind was fresh against her face and exhilarating. She could listen to Aine’s yelling from the chamber, she could hear her chanting charms for safety and good luck.

  Her heart pounded like a demented drum, but she ignored it and enjoyed the coldness around her, enjoyed the freedom she felt as she descended this long leap of faith and hope.

  The feeling engulfed her.

  Freedom...

  The word echoed through the caverns of her mind, of her soul and she knew... She knew that all the restraints and bonds were gone and she was free.

  Free to do whatever she needed, whatever she wanted. No mental barriers, no mental iron restraints to keep her at the King’s side.

  She knew her future. She knew where the path she had chosen for herself led and she was free. She was unchained to use her powers for good, to use her strength and help those that had no future under the King’s rule.

  Her laughter rolled over the cavern about her, around her ears. She laughed like she never had. It moved the foundations of her soul and rendered her an independent being. She floated in bliss and it was the most delightful feeling she had ever experienced.

  The castle of the Lam Mother was as she could see at the top of a cliff. Endless darkness inhabited about her, dark stone and silence ruled inside those caverns.

  Cassia could see the bottom of the cliff and before she could make an impact with the ground, she flashed back to the palace’s main chamber and for the first time in her life; she knew what she had to do.

  47

  “Cassia,” she turned around, glancing at an angry Ael and a worried Beathan. “Where were you?” Ael sprinted towards her, his hands moved to embrace her in relief. Cassia awkwardly embraced him back for the sake of politeness and tapped his back. She pulled away finally and gave Ael a reassuring smile.

  “We can talk later.” She cleared her throat and turned to Beathan. “There are important things we must discuss. Call a meeting tomorrow and tell Argoth to bring Ardan with him, please.”

  Beathan nodded. “I will.” He said. Beathan narrowed his eyes on her as his brows knitted together. “Did you meet Aine?”

  “I did and she told me some, indeed, interesting things.”

  Ael took a step closer shook his head. “It was extremely dangerous to go into the forest alone.”

  I turned towards him and raised an eyebrow in annoyance. “You neglected to inform me about the trolls.”

  His mouth hung open for a moment not knowing what to say. Beathan stepped closer and tilted his head as he looked at Cassia wide eyed. “I believed it was common knowledge that trolls have taken residence inside the forest.”

  She shook her head. “Nevertheless, I am not from around here. Someone should have warned me, Ael.” She glared at him and crossed her arms over her chest.

  “Cassia-”

  She raised a hand, stopping him. “Ael, we will talk later.”

  She bit down onto her tongue; it was a warm amount of hate that drove her mind that moment. It took all of the self-restraint she had not to draw her sword on Ael’s. He should have at least said something about the lams and the trolls. A warning.

  However, kissing and embracing was something Cassia had scarcely tolerated in her life.

  She should have pushed him away from the beginning. She cursed herself. Stupid, foolish elf for even making her blink an eye towards love and affection, towards something more than friendship. Her fingertips curled into tight fists on her sides.

  She pinched herself mentally. He had no motive to harm her, though. No motive. She had never before seen him in her life, she had never done anything to hurt him. He had no motive.

  “Sia, really I am sorry.” He bowed his head as he twisted on his feet and marched away from them, down to the dark corridor. She couldn’t bring herself to call him to come back, she was far too proud to ev
en dare.

  Beathan cleared his throat. “What happened between the two of you?” He asked silently as he crossed his arms over his chest.

  She raised an eyebrow and sighed in annoyance. “Something you don’t need to know.”

  He nodded his head and smiled. “I will heed your warnings.”

  She turned her head away from Beathan. “Good.” She managed a couple of steps towards the stairs at the left, but Beathan stopped her.

  “Griswold asked about you.”

  She cleared her throat and raised her eyes as she twisted around and glared at him. “I stroke a deal with him.” She barked out and shook her head. “He will assist in the war, but apparently due to his ill kind of humour; he wants to torture me every night by forcing me to take dinner with him.”

  Beathan laughed shaking his hanging his head. He raised his eyes at me. “You didn’t have to do this. We could have managed.”

  “No,” she whispered, her eyes sliding back to the floor. “You wouldn’t, not even with my assistance. The people must know their Lords are united and in peace. Trust me, I’ve ruled for a long time, longer than you.”

  He nodded. “I know, but not even Mersila could stay in the same room with him playing pranks on her.”

  The memory of Mersila with Griswold on the bed flashed back at Cassia, unsettling her stomach. She gritted her teeth and shook her head. No, she shouldn’t ask Beathan about his sister’s whereabouts. “For that, I am not certain.” Cassia turned around and marched towards the stairs. “Have a good night, Beathan.”

  “Goodnight.”

  + + +

  Ael followed her obediently through the library. The darkness in this place always gave him chills. It had never been a good place to start with no matter how much knowledge it held in its hidden bookshelves. No, Ael always despised Beathan’s library. Too dark, too terrifying for his taste and the gods knew what lived in the most isolated places. Ghosts were the last thing he was afraid of in there.