“I saidshow me.” Faelara flicked her wrist, and a bolt of light flew at Taryn. She swatted it away. “Again, but use the power. If you try to deflect ShantiMari with your bare hands, you’ll get burned.” Another bolt zoomed at Taryn, and she did as instructed.
“Good. Now, what else can you do?”
Rhoane remained quiet while Faelara clucked or nodded as Taryn showed them everything she’d been practicing. She lit a fire on her palm, hid several small cakes, warded her teacup, and so on, until she’d shown them everything. Except the fire and ice she’d created that morning. Until she had a chance to recreate it, she wouldn’t share that power with anyone.
At length, Faelara nodded an end to the demonstration. “It appears you’ve only attempted to use your power for sensible things, like guarding the sword. Rhoane and I are going to show you how to use ShantiMari to defend yourself, among other things. Rhoane will help with your Eleri strain of ShantiMari and I will concentrate on allowing your full powers of Light to come through.”
“What about the Dark? Don’t I need to know that, as well?” Her pulse quickened. “You aren’t going to make me work with Valterys, are you?”
Fae’s lips pursed together. “Of course not. You’ll have need of Dark power—it’s true—and when the time is right, I will have a proper instructor for you. But for now, let’s work with what we have, shall we?”
Taryn sighed with relief. There were two sides to her father and each frightened her more than she was willing to admit. The polite gentleman she saw at Talaith was very different from the angry man she remembered from Ravenwood.
Faelara showed her how to pull ShantiMari from the light around them, making her skin tickle with the amount of power in the room. Taryn lost herself in the silken caress of ShantiMari. She could feel Faelara’s strength in her threads and the subtle touch of caring she wove into her Mari. Rhoane’s Shanti flowed over her, through her even. She sensed others, as if the Eleri shared a collective power as one. When she opened herself to the strength of the two sitting opposite her, the sheer force of their power overwhelmed her. Seductive, it called to her, embracing her. Like the void from the cavern but more intense, more immediate. For one moment of sheer bliss, she let it consume her.
The feeling shifted, and flecks of light popped against her closed lids. Her breath came in rasps as the power tore at her thoughts, ravaging her mind. A rush of ShantiMari flooded into her, thickening her blood in her veins, cutting off air. She choked and fought against it, forcing it out. The room tilted and she opened her eyes.
Faelara grabbed her wrist. “Taryn! Don’t ever do that again.” Amber sparks flew around her. “You could have killed us.”
Confusion addled her thoughts. “It felt so good, intoxicating, but then I couldn’t breathe. What did I do?”
“You drew our ShantiMari to you,Darennsai,” Rhoane said quietly. “It is forbidden to take another’s power without their consent.”
“I didn’t know—I’m so sorry. I have a lot to learn, don’t I?”
“Yes, you do. At least you were able to pull away before any damage was done. Now, let us begin our training.”
Failure clung to Taryn. Try though she might, she couldn’t push it aside, making it difficult to focus on what Faelara and Rhoane were saying. They discussed the need for etiquette when using ShantiMari, the various laws that must be obeyed.
“With so many people gifted with the power, it is imperative everyone follow rules or there would be chaos of epic proportions. ShantiMari exists in everything, from the vast oceans to the smallest insect. The way to use your power most effectively is to pull from what is around you and command it to do your bidding,” Rhoane explained, and Faelara agreed.
“The word you use is as important as the idea you form in your head. If, for example, you say you want a piece of toast, but in your mind you are thinking crumpet, you’ll get a toasted crumpet. There cannot be any wavering in your command. However, you must be able to focus completely on what you are doing while simultaneously understanding what is going on around you.” Faelara paused for Taryn to absorb the concept.
“In a way, it isn’t much different from sword fighting or martial arts,” Taryn said.
Faelara lifted an eyebrow, and Rhoane explained. “Precisely. In both, you must focus all of your attention on your opponent but also keep your peripheral vision attuned to those around you. Excellent, Taryn.”
It took her years to learn everything she knew about martial arts; she couldn’t expect to master ShantiMari in one evening. “What else is there to know?”
“More than I fear we’ll ever have time to teach you. If you’d been raised here, you would’ve learned all the basics by the time you were out of swaddling clothes. I want you to come here every day so we can drill you on not only the basics but the distinctions among the various strains as well. After you’ve mastered that, we’ll move on to more difficult workings.” Faelara looked at Rhoane. “I think it important that you be here each day. Do you have the time in your schedule?”
“I will make the time.”
Taryn was surprised. “You have to make time? What do you do?”
Faelara laughed, but Rhoane just smiled. “He is the unofficial ambassador of the Eleri. Most days he sits in on Lliandra’s Privy Council meeting, but there are other duties he must perform, as well. If anyone wishes to conduct business with the Eleri, they must speak to Rhoane first.”
“While I amsheanna, I am not allowed to speak in the Privy Council, but Lliandra affords me a certain amount of autonomy in my dealings with merchants and other nobles.”
Faelara gave a little snort. “She keeps you on a tight leash, all the same.”
“So, you all have jobs here?” The idea had never occurred to her.
“Of course, and you will, too. Someday, when you are ready, you will sit in on meetings, too. As the head of House Galendrin, it is your right,” Faelara explained.
It could take months, or even a season, before Taryn was ready for court politics. She was too trusting and Aelinaen politics too convoluted for her to attempt before she had acclimated to her new role.
“My darling,” Faelara said, “we don’t mean to upset you. Please know we have only your best interests in mind.”
The truth burned in her belly, and the words that she’d been afraid of saying tumbled out. “Everyone thinks I have this great power, that I’m the most important person on Aelinae. What if I’m not who everyone thinks I am? What if the whole Light and Dark thing is wrong and I’m just an average woman?”
Tears dropped on her hand, illuminating her runes. The designs shifted and moved. A sword. A moon. A sun. The great tree of the Weirren. A bright star. Their meanings were clear now; the others would be in time.
Then her vision shifted beyond the runes to a crypt deep beneath the ground. A man with eyes of fire glared at her. His long dark hair hung limp around his face. His blunt nose was swollen, as if he’d been in a fight, and a deep scar ran from his right eye to his chin in a crescent shape. A moment later it was gone.
The man held something, a small circular disk with engravings on it. A Seal of Ardyn. He laughed, a horrible cracking sound that hurt her ears. Her sword cried out in unison with her pendant and crown. Their song called for justice. They wanted the man’s blood. The passionate anger of the song frightened Taryn but not as much as what the man was doing. He held the seal between his fingers, snapping it in two as if it were nothing but unfired clay.
His fiery eyes gleamed at her while he rasped, “Taryn Rose of House Galendrin, I call you forth. Child of Light and Dark, Destroyer of the Eleri, I call you forth.”
“Rykoto,” she whispered the name. The man let forth a deep laugh that shook her to the marrow in her bones. “I know you.”
Memories flooded her of a time before time itself, when the gods and goddesses lived on Dal Tara. She saw the birth of Aelinae as Nadra and Ohlin nurtured the new planet. She witnessed Rykoto’s love of Daknys, followed
by his betrayal with their daughter; she saw Kaldaar’s banishment and the Great War that almost destroyed the lands. Daknys held the Sword of Ohlin—Taryn’s sword—and cast Rykoto into the Temple of Ardyn. The god screamed when all the others sealed him in his prison.
Rykoto’s fury grew as he simmered and plotted, century after century.
He showed her the night of her birth when her brother, her twin brother, was born lifeless and set aside to allow for her entrance into the world. When Taryn’s tiny hand touched the pommel of Ohlin’s sword, Rykoto recoiled from the light, hissing against her brilliance.
The next day, when her father arrived at the palace looking for his son, Rykoto infected Valterys with the madness that drove him still.
Taryn had to stop him from destroying Aelinae. But Valterys was willing to grant Rykoto his freedom in exchange for immortality. To become a god. Somehow, some way, she had to stop them. If she failed, Rykoto won and all of Aelinae—and the people she cared about—would cease to exist.
“Now you understand.” His smile was nothing more than a crimson line across his face. A forked tongue snaked out, smearing blood down his chin. Taryn stared at him, too afraid to look away. “You are mine, daughter. Only mine. I will consume you.”
“No.” Taryn shook her head, denying the visions, denying him. “Never.”
“Your time has come, Eirielle. Awaken.” He threw out his hands, and flames shot toward her. His laughter echoed into the darkness.
She covered her ears to stop the hideous sound. “Get out!”
“Taryn, we are here, you are safe.”
She blinked at Rhoane several times, the slow realization that she wasn’t with the madman anymore dawning on her. “It was so real.”
Faelara’s face was inches from hers. Lines of concern creased the woman’s creamy skin. “What was real, darling?” She handed Taryn some tea. “You were screaming. What happened?”
Taryn took a long drink, trying to recall what she’d seen. “A man. Rykoto. He—” She stopped, eyes wide. “Oh my God. He broke the seal!” She grabbed Rhoane’s hand. “He broke the seal, Rhoane.”
He was shaking his head. “That is impossible, Taryn. It was only a vision. None of it was real. What did he say?”
“I… He…” She put her hand to her head. The flurry of visions continued unabated. “I saw the war. The one you told me about, with the gods. My sword sealed him away, and now he wants out. What they did to Julieta…” Fresh tears streamed down her cheeks. “It was horrific. Rhoane, he showed me the rape. Said he would consume me, that I was his.” Her body trembled hard enough to clatter her teacup on the saucer.
Faelara removed the china from her hand and stroked her hair, making comforting sounds. Her Mari embraced Taryn, but it wasn’t enough to keep out the chill in her heart.
“He’s using Valterys to do his bidding. And he called me the Eirielle. He showed me things. Terrible things. He wants me to kill people.” Taryn rose and paced around the room. She looked at Rhoane, eyes brimming with tears. “He said I’ll destroy the Eleri.” She fell to her knees. “Oh God. I don’t want this. I don’t want the power to kill people.” She hugged herself, rocking back and forth.
Rhoane knelt beside her. “Darennsai, you will not destroy anyone. I promise. Not my people, not anyone. You were born for peace and balance. That is your destiny. Rykoto is trying to manipulate you.” He held her close, his heart beating as fiercely as her own. “You know who you are now, but you must believe in what you can do. You are much stronger than you realize.” He leaned back to look in her eyes. “I have always believed in you. So have Fae, Baehlon, Brandt, and many, many others. Our belief is nothing, though.You must believe it.”
“What if I fail?”
“You’re not alone in this, Taryn. We are all here to help.” Faelara sat beside her on the floor. “Drink this.” She handed Taryn a glass of wine. “My darling girl, we’d never let anything happen to you.”
As much as she wanted to believe her friend, it wasn’t true. In the end, it would be Taryn’s responsibility to protect them, not the other way around. She drank the wine in one long swig, handing the glass back to her friend. “I hope I don’t let you down.”
The older woman pulled her into a protective hug. “You could never do that.” She held Taryn until she relaxed into her embrace.
“I hope you’re right.” Taryn swooned a bit. “What was in that wine? I feel strange.” She tried to focus on Fae’s amber eyes, but they slid across her skin in a most unbecoming way. “You’re all wobbly.”
Faelara motioned for Rhoane to help her stand Taryn up. “I put a sleeping draught in your wine, darling. I thought you might need a good night’s sleep after this evening.”
“Oh, thass a good idea. No more bad guys.”
With Rhoane’s support, they made their way to the door where Faelara whispered to Rhoane, “I think you should stay with her tonight.”
Taryn’s head rolled back and she said, “I heard that. I don’t need a babyssssitter.” She started to tell Faelara she could take care of herself, but her thoughts were mired in muck inside her brain. Instead, she opened the door and staggered into the hallway.
Once they got her to her rooms, with no small effort on Rhoane’s part, Taryn, fully dressed, collapsed on the bed.
Chapter 29
TARYN and Nadra sat on a star, far above Aelinae. Made of the same crystals found in the cavern on Mount Nadrene, fragile spikes branched out from the center of the star in a glittering display of radiating color. Taryn’s heart was light and full of joy as she laughed with the innocence of a child. They gazed down at the oddly shaped planet of Aelinae. Not round as she’d expected, and where the oceans met the planet’s edge, vast waterfalls fell into nothingness. Aelinae had mountains and forests, islands and the sea, deserts and grasslands, but nothing beneath the world. Nothing except dirt and molten lava, as if the underside of Aelinae was one huge volcano.
“Doesn’t it need spherical adhesion? Won’t it disintegrate?” Taryn worried for the inhabitants of the planet, worried for the world she’d only just come to know. Worried for her home.
“Aelinae is a young planet, only about fifteen thousand seasons or so. She is a prototype of sorts,” Nadra explained. “She is as sound as any other planet, I assure you.”
The feeling of lightness made her giggle. She spied Aelinae’s moons, the smaller of the two shadowing the larger, always visible moon. “It doesn’t disappear at all, just hides for a bit. Brilliant.”
To the south, a small island drifted high above a larger island in the Southern Sea. A waterfall cascaded into a pool beneath it. “That must break over a hundred laws of physics.”
“When you are a god, physics is a matter of semantics. I don’t expect you to understand it now, dear one, but someday you’ll have need of this knowledge.” Nadra rested her head on Taryn’s, and wrapped her arms around her waist.
“Why did you send me to Earth with Brandt? Why not let him raise me on Aelinae?”
“There are elements to Earth that are important for Aelinae’s survival. Earth is a dead planet, without much ShantiMari to sustain her. She lives on machinery now. In a few centuries, she’ll be unrecognizable from the world you know.” Nadra smoothed Taryn’s hair and kissed her temples. “Don’t worry about these things, my beloved. When the time comes, you will know what Aelinae needs.”
The happiness that embraced her was all-consuming. Nothing could darken her mood, and she laughed with unbridled gaiety when Nadra sprinkled stardust over her head. Then the goddess whispered through the early morning air. “Awaken, Eirielle, Child of Light and Dark.”
Taryn sat upright in her bed, the feeling of tranquility still cloaking her. The sound of ocean waves crashing against the rocks drifted through her open window. The sky was dark and birds had yet to begin their morning song. Half expecting to find Nadra beside her, she was disappointed with the empty bed.
The last vestiges of the sleeping draught Faelar
a had given her lingered in her sluggish thoughts. She stretched and nestled deep beneath her covers, recalling by turns her dream and the events of the previous evening. If Rykoto was trying to frighten her, he might have succeeded once, but she would be damned if he ever did it again.
A low growl came from her stomach. She’d had little to eat or drink since lunch the previous day. She stretched again and flicked her wrist, lighting several candles with a thought. When she rose from the bed, she stopped mid-stride, staring at the figure sprawled across the divan.
Still clothed in the silk tunic and leather breeches he had worn the previous night, Rhoane lay with his long legs hanging over the edge, nearly touching the floor. All throughout the room, she could see his ShantiMari woven into powerful wards to protect her.
Her life would never be simple. The path set before her would test her limits in ways she had yet to even conceive. She only hoped Rhoane could withstand the trials, because without him, she would fail. But it had to be his choice. Without an oath or royal command. He had to want to be with her.
She crept from the bed to kneel beside him. His breath came and went in an even flow. His eyelashes fluttered with his dreaming. She brushed a few errant curls off his face, tracing a finger over his slightly pointed ear. He moaned softly in his sleep. She ran her fingers through his hair, liking the way the candlelight caught his golden highlights. When she kissed the corner of his mouth, his lips parted with another moan.
He and Faelara said they believed in her, but what if she failed him? They were linked, bonded by powers beyond her understanding. If she failed, would he die?
She placed a featherlight kiss on his lips before padding to the sitting room, where she called for a page to send up breakfast. While she waited, she checked the sealed cupboard. Not satisfied with her previous wards, she added several more, with a nastier surprise for anyone who so much as touched the wall surrounding it. A plan was forming in her mind. She would not fail; it simply was not an option.
The Stones of Kaldaar (Song of the Swords Book 1) Page 26