By Destiny Bound (The Lost Shrines Book 2)
Page 16
"If you pass the gift to me, will you lose it? Or will we share it?"
"I have no idea. But the most important thing I've learned these past weeks is to trust my instincts. They're telling me this is the right thing to do. What is your heart telling you to do, Brynna?"
-13-
YVE held her breath in silence. Waiting.
She watched the self-contained, always certain Brynna hesitate, fingers twisting together. Her usual, serene mask broken by confusion and doubt.
It lasted only a moment, though. Her expression smoothed out, doubt giving way to determination.
Then Brynna turned and pressed her hands onto the altar.
"Here. It has to be here."
Brynna couldn't see the way the ley-pool began to glow brighter under the altar, but Yve had no doubt she felt it. It beckoned her forward, and the last of her own doubts fell away. Whatever came next, this was the right thing for her.
Stepping up to the altar, Yve pulled the medallion over her head and laid it on the carved stone between them.
Brynna stretched out her hand, fingertips gently falling on the edge of the pendant.
Yve did the same, and suddenly the glow in the room shifted. The leylines and the ley-pool remained, but their light dimmed in comparison to the brilliance of power shining from Brynna. A wave from the pool reached out for Brynna, but it could not connect. Something was missing.
Yve looked down and saw the same swirling circle of magic at her own center. Where the magic of the pool was rebuffed and slid away from Brynna, her own magic stretched out to meet it. Beyond that, though, it reached out in all directions. Seeking something.
Then Yve felt herself drawn in a dozen different directions, the way she'd been drawn to the center. A dozen different centers spread out haphazardly in a shifting mirage. That was something she would have to figure out later.
For now, her focus was on Brynna. Reaching out with her awareness, she touched her own magic, felt the way it beat and pulsed. In the High-Seryt, the magic was bright but still.
With a soft breath, Yve opened herself up, felt the beat in her body pushed along her limbs until it pounded in her fingertips. She had no idea where the words came from, but they poured out of her mouth, heavy with significance.
"Do you accept this burden, Brynna? Do you promise to carry it and honor it and only to pass it on to one who is worthy?"
"I promise."
The pulse passed from Yve's fingers into the cool metal. She had just enough time to see Brynna shiver from the spark before the whirling chaos of a vision engulfed her.
Yve saw herself in an unfamiliar place. She stood in a circle of woman wielding magic she didn't understand. The world spun, and she saw Daen with the sword again, but this time Brynna was by his side, medallion shining in the glow. Another circle and three white Hounds stood shoulder to shoulder in the coming darkness.
When she blinked her eyes open, both she and Brynna were slumped over the altar, hands still pressed to the Kelan's medallion. Clearly, though, she saw the magic of the ley-pool pulse along a bond with Brynna.
Her own connection pulsed bright and strong, as well. Yve allowed a moment of relief to roll through her. She'd been willing to give up the gift if need be. But she hadn't wanted to.
"I saw...things," Brynna murmured. "Just flashes. I saw the prince. A battle at a palace I've never seen. A party. And a sword. No. Three swords."
"Yeah. That happens."
Brynna pushed herself up so she stood tall. Even in this, she wouldn't allow herself to slouch for long.
With a sigh, Yve followed suit.
"I don't know what any of it means." Brynna blinked down at the medallion then up at Yve, like she might have all the answers.
"You will, eventually. If you're meant to. They are just possibilities, I think. Some more likely than others. Some we're meant to stop. Some we’re meant to help come into being. Some we're just meant to observe. Orra told me to trust my instincts. She wasn't wrong."
Yve shrugged, wishing she could offer more. "It's the best advice I can give you. It worked for me, once I stopped second guessing myself constantly."
Still wide-eyed and looking a little wild, Brynna nodded.
Satisfied, Yve pushed the medallion across the alter. "This is yours, now. Kelan Brynna."
Looking more confident, or, at least, hiding her uncertainty better, Brynna ducked her head and placed the necklace around her neck.
"Thank you, Kelan Yve."
"Oh, but I'm not--"
"You are. You still have the gift. I can see it. You are the emissary-Kelan. But Kelan still. You have changed your responsibilities and burdens, but you still carry them."
Yve stared at Brynna's serious, serene expression for a long moment until she saw the twitch of a smile.
"Well, you have the vague yet dire-sounding pronouncements down perfectly. You should have no trouble leading the Order."
The sound of footsteps, deliberate and intentional echoed from the Labyrinth corridor, and they both spun to face the intruder.
The Hound stepped carefully into sight and paused at the entrance.
She should be surprised, but, somehow, she wasn't. Even as immersed as she'd been in the magic and in passing the gift to Brynna, some part of Yve had been aware of him drawing closer.
The familiar white mist engulfed him, and when it cleared, Maddyn stood there looking healthy and whole. And ready to leave for good.
Brynna gasped, but quickly covered her mouth. She looked more embarrassed by her outburst than frightened or disturbed.
The distraction was brief, though, and her attention was immediately drawn back to Maddyn, who remained standing uncertainly in the archway.
She asked the only question that mattered.
"What are you doing here?"
*****
"What are you doing here?"
"I was in the garden, and I felt--" Maddyn paused, not able to explain what the rush along the bond had felt like. A kaleidoscope of emotions too chaotic to sort through. "I didn't know what I was feeling. I just knew I had to check on you. I followed the tug of the bond and your scent."
"Did anyone see you?"
There was a twinge a little higher than the usual ache of his side. It hurt that she still wanted to keep him a secret. He knew it was more about the Order than him, but it felt personal all the same.
"No. I know how to sneak into the Temple well enough by now," Maddyn said, attempting to find a little humor in the situation. "It's the sneaking out where I get into trouble."
Yve rolled her eyes, but he felt her flicker of amusement and saw the way her lips twitched up. For a moment, he drank in the image of her, wondering if it was the last time he'd ever see her.
A flash of reflected moonlight cut across the room, pulling him from the melancholy spiral of his thoughts. Automatically, he tracked it back to its source, old instincts checking for weapon or threat.
That's when Maddyn saw the medallion.
Around Brynna's neck.
"Yve? What happened? What's going on? What did you do?"
What had she given up? What did this mean for her? For him? For them?
"It's complicated." Yve bit her lip, looking like she wanted to say more but didn't know how to explain. "I did what I had to do."
Maddyn hated himself for the momentary surge of hope. As much as he wanted it to mean there was a chance for them, a chance to keep the bond, this wasn't about him. She'd given up something important. He needed to understand.
"Why?" Maddyn whispered, stepping closer and brushing a stray strand of hair back behind her ear.
Yve lifted her face toward his, eyes challenging and firm. "Does it matter, now?"
Brynna scooted toward the entrance, murmuring a hasty, "I should go."
"What happened?"
This time, when he asked, he let curiosity and hope bleed into the question.
"Brynna and I, we're both Kelan, now. Sort of. Brynna will lead the Or
der. My destiny is...somewhere else."
"Where?"
Yve laughed, but it was shaky and a little uncertain.
"I haven't quite figured that out, yet. Right now, I'm depending on the gift to guide me."
"Come with me."
The pleading demand took them both by surprise. Yve's eyes rounded, and Maddyn wondered if he had gone too far, too fast. He hadn't even expected the words to come out of his mouth. Now that it was out there, though, Maddyn knew it was what he wanted. What he would move the earth and the stars to make happen.
"I need you. I haven't let myself need anyone for a long, long time. But I need you."
Yve looked up then, eyes drawn to the glowing disk of the moon brightening the circle of the night sky above them. Then she sighed and smiled sadly at him.
"It's just the bond. If we let it fade, you'll feel different in the morning--"
"It's not the bond. It's me. It's you. It's your strength and your laugh and your stubbornness and your compassion. It's you. I want the bond because I want you in my life. I don't want to let it fade."
He stepped closer and drew his thumb along her jaw.
"Stay with me," he whispered. "Stay here. Tonight. Then come with me tomorrow."
Her eyes darted up to the moon, understanding of what he was asking glowing in her eyes.
Then she stepped into his arms, pushing up onto tiptoes to press her lips against his. She didn't say a word, but she didn't need to. He felt the answering hum of joy and acceptance and need singing along their bond.
He cupped her face, letting his fingers slide along her jaw until he could take the kiss deeper. Taste the sweet warmth and let himself get lost in her. In them. In becoming bound by moon and magic and love.
*****
After an extremely awkward morning meal with the all of the Seryts, Yve found herself standing in the Order's loft with Brynna. Below, Maddyn, along with his brother Caerwyn and his sister-in-law, Lia, were meeting with Daen one last time.
"It's funny," Yve mused, keeping her voice low so as not to carry and disturb the conversation in the throne room. "A few weeks ago, all the Seryts were howling that I was ill-prepared, inexperienced and unsuitable to be Kelan. And this morning they spent the entire meal lamenting my leaving and insisting you couldn't be Kelan."
Brynna tried to smile, but the light didn't quite reach her eyes.
"You can't blame them. This whole thing is really unorthodox, despite those histories you found. The past month has been one upheaval and shock after another."
"I know. And I'm sorry to leave you alone to deal with it. I think it might settle down faster after I'm gone, though."
Brynna's disbelieving expression spoke louder than any words she might have uttered.
"Are you sure this is what you want, Yve?"
"It's a little late now to change my mind, don't you think?" She looked over the edge of the loft at where Maddyn was talking to his brother Caerwyn, his sister-in-law and Daen.
As if feeling her gaze, Maddyn immediately tilted his face up, smile wide and his eyes warm before he turned his attention back to the conversation.
"And no," she murmured. "I wouldn't change a thing."
The morning had been full of emotional ups and downs.
Waking up in the Labyrinth's center had been something she'd never forget. The ground had been hard and cold and but Maddyn cradling her close had to have been the most comforting experience she'd ever had. Sunrise was just beginning to stain the sky above them, and the world felt peaceful and right around her for the first time in a long time.
Separating had been the hardest thing she'd ever done, even knowing it was only temporary. They both still had duties that couldn't be neglected. His brother arriving at mid-morning and Maddyn would be expected to meet them at the Keep.
And Yve couldn't leave Brynna to face the Seryts alone to explain the change in leadership. Before that, though, she'd spirited Enna away for a much more personal goodbye than the one she'd offered to the Order over breakfast.
But now, Yve's duty to the Order was on a different path. All of her belongings packed and waiting in the stables.
She had only a few vague hints of what destiny had in store for her. For them. But, wherever she went, she'd be with Maddyn. Her lips curved at the thought, and her heart raced a little in anticipation. She couldn't wait to take those first steps together out into the unknown.
"Go on," Brynna said, startling her out of her thoughts. "We'll be fine here."
"Am I that obvious?"
"Yes," Brynna answered, laughter dancing in her eyes. "I'm afraid you are."
Yve impulsively hugged her. "Thank you. I couldn't have gotten here without you. You really are the Kelan the Order needs. Don't let Gyrt or anyone make you think otherwise."
Yve squeezed one last time in silent goodbye then rushed down the stairs. She wasn't surprised to find Maddyn waiting for her at the bottom.
Ignoring the last step, she launched herself at him. He caught her easily with a laugh and twirled her until they were tucked out of the way in the alcove.
Wrapped in his arms, surrounded by heat and filled with the passion and love humming along the bond, Yve lifted her face to meet his. She poured her own heart, her joy, and wonder into the kiss, secure in the promise of forever.
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Table of Contents
d'Hara Manor, Hara Dale
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