Darag laughed. “I think I could manage that before your boat is fixed.”
“Really?”
“If you like.”
Lavinia grinned.
CHAPTER 16
LUS NA SITHCHAINE
The early darkness of the forest lightened ahead. Ria’s heartbeat jumped in tempo. She tripped over her feet, wobbling unsteadily for a moment.
Ty did not notice, his narrow cast eyes blazed in one direction, seeking one thing. It was Niri who placed a gentle hand on the small of Ria’s back. The warmth from Niri’s touch lingered despite the damp chill in the air. Ria’s hands felt like they had been plunged in ice water.
Ria forced a deep breath as they stepped into the clearing marking the center of Lus na Sithchaine. Dusk’s blue light filled the open sky, saturating a place that was already unbelievable to Ria in a mythic glow. Two matching trees of towering height stood like sentinels at the far side of the opening. Their highest branches caught the last of the sun’s rays. Within the darkness of the surrounding trees, knots of golden light twirled and scattered, reforming a distance away like glowing birds or butterflies. It took Ria a moment to realize the lights that did not move were from houses.
The two Kith guides had paused at the edge of the clearing, their eyes indifferent though they gave the trio a moment to catch their breath as well as take in the sight of the city. As Ria’s eyes adjusted, she could make out the aerial houses that looked like massive thickets of mistletoe lit from within. Between them, branches arched as living pathways, swooping slowly downward. Houses made from branches and vines grew at all levels, even a few along the ground visible by their lights in the evening shadows between the tree trunks.
Niri let out a slow breath. Ty drummed his fingers against his thighs. His eyes strained through the growing darkness to the people who milled at the far side of the clearing. Nervousness flickered through Ria again. She chewed at her lip, hearing her mother’s voice admonishing her for a moment. A rush of homesickness flowed through Ria but it was no longer the sharp pain it had been. If she wanted to see home again, it depended a great deal on the next few moments. Ria squared her shoulders and stepped next to Niri.
Ria had found herself alone on the boat after Lavinia’s flight with the sword, Ty’s mad dash after her, and then Niri’s decision to pursue them both. Ria had sat down, alone for the first time since before the Solstice festival and completely unsure what to do to with herself.
The minutes had stretched on until Ria became aware of the liquid sound of gentle waves lapping the hull of the boat and the creak of the ropes tying it to the strange wharf. Her arms had been locked at her sides, fingers curled around the edge of the bench as she leaned forward as if she were expecting someone back at any moment. She had been sitting that way for a long time.
No one is here to tell me what do to, she had thought.
It had been the realization that she was waiting not for company but for instructions that made her stir. She had flexed her hands and found they listened to her commands. She could chose to do anything she wished.
All my life, I’ve been waiting. What I’ve always feared has happened, but not as I thought. And I’m still here waiting. It had been a sick realization.
In the gentle rocking of the ship, Ria had begun to laugh. The sound had startled her, which made her laugh harder until she sobbed with such force her sides ached. It had not taken long until all the frozen moments of not being in control of her life fell out of her. Alone, she had rubbed the tears off her cheeks, gathered up her bag of belongings and walked down the wharf to find her room in Drufforth’s Inn.
Niri had come back first. She had found Ria sitting downstairs talking to Gaylin and Kara, who was the innkeeper, drinking fermented cider and honey. Niri had been disheveled. Her dress, which had always looked too boisterous on her, had been muddy and fern whipped. Strands of her thick brown hair had fallen in loose waves around her face. Niri had looked nothing more frightening than Ria’s aunt after chasing three troublemaking lads through her family’s orchard. Ria had giggled and pushed a tankard toward Niri.
Gaylin and Kara had made themselves busy while Niri sat and caught her breath, eyes flicking sideways toward Ria.
“Did he catch her?”
Niri had shaken her head. “No, Lavinia found a Kith lad, man, before Ty found her. She is going to Lus na Sithchaine and we’ll join her tonight to go before the council and ask for help.” Niri had paused, taking a sip of the cold brew. “You and Ty should be able to get their help to find a different boat south. Assuming Ty makes it back in time to go.” Niri had not looked toward Ria. “I’m sorry to have left you alone today.”
“That’s okay. Really, it was . . . nice actually. I haven’t had a chance to think since we left Mirocyne. Sardinia doesn’t count.” A frown had slid across Ria’s face but did not stick.
Niri had glanced at her. There had been no panic in her. Instead, Ria had felt tired and a little tipsy. She had wondered what Niri saw with her glance.
“I don’t want to leave.”
Niri’s head had swung round and she had looked Ria in the eye. Ria had taken a deep breath and met Niri’s gaze. “You want to stay?”
Ria had shaken her head again, her vision out of time with the motion. She had pushed her tankard away. “I’m not sure what I want, but I want the time to figure that out. That might as well be here since that is where we are.”
A slow smiled had grown across Niri’s face. She had sat back in her chair. “That seems very fair.”
“I do think that if they agree to help, we should get the boat fixed.”
Ty had come back minutes before the two Kith teenagers arrived to lead them to Lus na Sithchaine. He had been out of breath, his shirt stiff with sweat, and a hollow look had eaten the spark, angry or teasing, that commonly filled his face. Hearing that Lavinia was already ahead of them had slumped his shoulders. There had been no time to change so Ty walked back into the forest as he was tired, sore, dirty, and lost. Skree had squeezed Ty’s shoulder as he walked out the door.
Now despite her resolve to not shrink from the journey of what happened after her worst fears were realized, Ria’s heart was hammering a staccato. The Kith teenagers were distant and strange with patterned skin and simple clothes of natural colors. The city was not like anything she had ever imagined. It was hard not to shrink against Niri and try to hide.
“Ria, Niri!” Lavinia’s dark hair, unique amongst the fair to brown heads of the Kith, was the first sight Ria had of her friend. Ria’s stiffening joints eased as Lavinia embraced her like she had come to visit after a long absence. Before Ria could get her breath back to protest, she was released and Niri was hugged as well.
Ty, distant and dark, was a foot behind the two women. His brow was furrowed and his eyes kept everyone distant. Lavinia glanced over Niri’s shoulder to her brother. He glowered at her. She spun and linked arms with her friends.
“You won’t believe what I’ve seen! But first we have the council. Then you have to meet Darag, if I can find him again . . . .” Lavinia strained forward looking around the figures of Kith. She shook her head. “He’ll turn up. He promised to teach me to use my sword if we get to stay. Niri, did you know the Kith can’t touch metal?”
Ria started to giggle. Lavinia glanced sideways at her with the look like it was one of the first times Lavinia had seen her.
“I haven’t heard you talk so much since we were eight and you came to my family’s estate for the first time.”
Lavinia grinned at the memory.
“But they are dryads,” Niri said softly.
“That’s what I said, but they’re not, well not exactly. It has to do with the trees. You’ll see. I hope.” Lavinia’s swirling words slowed and she glanced back at her brother, a frown tugging at her lips. Lavinia led them forward through the Kith until they were nearly between the sentinel trees. Ahead there was empty space before three Kith, who faced them.
Lavinia st
opped, swallowing nervously. The swarms of light danced around the three Kith, painting them in a flickering glow. It cast the still figures with an ethereal power.
“That’s Darag,” Lavinia whispered, nodding toward a figure on the left. Ria could see little beyond the high cut of his cheekbones in the faint light. Darag’s eyes were lost to shadows, the markings of his skin blending him with the night. Nervousness bounced around Ria’s chest.
“Laith Lus is in the center.”
Niri glanced at Lavinia before peering at the middle figure. “He is the Kith elder?”
“Yes, I met him earlier. He moves so slowly that you only notice it when you look away and then look back. But plants grow when he talks to them.” Lavinia’s face was a mixture of awe and fascination. She glanced at Ria, squeezing her hand. “He was very nice though. You don’t need to worry.”
Ria’s smile felt tight on her face.
“Who is the woman?” Niri’s eyes had not left the Kith before them. The crowd behind was beginning to settle, voices quieting. Ria’s heart hammered faster.
“Shai Bannan, the second elder.”
“Did you meet her too?” Ria asked in a throaty whisper.
Lavinia shook her head. “No, but Darag told me about her.”
Ria glanced at Lavinia. She hadn’t noticed it until that moment, but when Lavinia said Darag’s name there was a hitch in Lavinia’s voice. Despite her nervousness, Ria smiled. Before she could tease her friend, Laith Lus stepped forward.
In the brighter light of torches, Ria could just make out the shocking white grey of his hair and eyes that were ancient stone blue pools against mottled skin the color of an ash tree wet from a storm. Ria let out a breath that trembled her from head to toe.
Ria wasn’t sure if they stepped forward or the Kith back, but suddenly it was only the four of them standing between the gathering of Kith and the three before them. Ty was pale, his chin downturned, shadowed eyes gazing up at Laith Lus in defiance. Niri was calm, breathing in slow lungfuls as she stood her ground. Despite Lavinia’s assurances, Lavinia looked nervous and held Ria’s hand.
“You are the naiad?” Laith Lus’ voice was the roar of the wind in the branches of trees.
“I am.”
“You are not a Priestess with the Church?”
Niri did not hesitate. “I was.”
A hissing murmur ran through the assembled Kith.
“I was taken by the Church when I was nine and taught there to be a Priestess. But I was cast out and have since realized how wrong the Church is, how cruel. I am a Water Elemental only and not a Priestess, not any longer.”
Ria could sense the disapproval from the Kith like a black pit opening behind them. Laith Lus’ lips compressed. Darag’s eyes shifted towards Shai Bannan, drifting over Lavinia and Ria. It felt like Ria’s heart wobbled with the look.
Niri did not move or blink her eyes, holding Laith Lus’ gaze. Laith Lus took a slow breath.
“She saved my life.”
Everyone turned to stare at Ria. Her voice had only trembled a little and she could barely hear above the pounding of her own heart. But she let Lavinia’s hands go and stepped forward next to Niri.
“That is why she was cast out. She saved my life from the Church and the Curse.”
“She has saved all of us from the Curse, twice now.” Lavinia chimed in standing on Niri’s other side. Niri glanced at both girls, a smile touching her face. There was a shifting sound in the crowd behind them.
“And what are you child, that the Church and Curse seek you?”
Ria was held by Laith Lus’ gaze. She forgot to be afraid. “I don’t know. I have magic . . . it runs in my family. But I don’t know what good it is or what I can do. Every time I use it . . . the Curse comes.” Her voice trembled and she looked away afraid of the memories.
Niri put a hand on her shoulder.
“And what do you seek here.”
Ria tried to speak, but nothing came when she opened her mouth.
“Our boat was damaged by the Curse. We need to get it repaired so we can sail to the Temple of Dust where we hope to learn something in the remains of the library to protect Ria or hide her from the Curse. We could not seek shelter in the towns of the Archipelago without risk of being found.”
“You do not seek to go to the Temple of Ice?”
Niri’s brow pulled together. “No.” Her voice was uncertain.
Laith Lus looked down into the empty space before them. “Do you have proof of what you say?”
Laith Lus’ gaze was on Ria again. She shook her head. “No,” the word came out in a plea. She closed her eyes and tried again. “No, if I use my power the Curse will come. The Church will come. They do not know we are here.” Laith Lus waited, watching her. “Please do not ask me to do that.” Ria whispered against a closed throat.
Laith Lus was silent, his gaze changing focus. Ria glanced to where Laith Lus looked and saw Ty silent as a ghost.
“What have you to say regarding this?”
Ty’s nostrils flared as he sucked in air, fists clenched for a fight. “It happened as they say.”
“But not how you liked?”
“No, I have not liked anything about this since we met Niri in Mirocyne.”
“Then why are you here?”
“To protect my sister and Ria from the Church, from Niri, from you if I must.” Ty took a step forward. A hiss ran around the clearing. Laith Lus and Darag exchanged a glance.
“Bahl fait’haf teyhl tonwhah.” Darag’s expression was grim with Laith Lus’ words.
“Ty stop it!” Lavinia turned and stood in front of her brother, one hand on his chest.
“They took you today.”
“I wanted to go with them.” Ty looked at his sister coldly.
“Your sister is a woman grown and a guest here, not a prisoner.”
Ty’s jaw muscles flexed. “We’ll talk about it back at the inn,” he hissed to his sister.
Lavinia glowered at her brother, hands clenched and chin tilted up in defiance. She whirled away from him, crossing her arms and looking into the grassy shadows.
Ria glanced back to Laith Lus and was surprised to find one lifted brow and a faintly bemused smile on his face.
“I have seen all I need to understand the truth. We will fix your boat as you ask. It will take two weeks. Until then, you may visit us during the day and stay in Drufforth at night. Tonight, have dinner with us and then we will see you back.”
Lavinia’s arms relaxed, uncrossing to fall at her sides. She smiled at Ria. Niri let out a breath, her shoulders rounding as she closed her eyes. Only Ty stood still, his gaze glancing from Lavinia to Ria.
The Kith had begun to move, the rustle of their fabric and feet sounding like a breeze through a field of saplings. Laith Lus had not budged and his silence halted the crowd.
Laith Lus’ eyes slid from Ty to Lavinia. “Except Lavinia, we have opened our homes to her. She may stay here in Lus na Sithchaine if she chooses.” Darag’s face jerked toward Laith Lus in a startled motion, the fastest movement Ria had seen among the Kith.
The surprise was chased from Lavinia’s face with a glowing smile. She rocked forward on her toes, a hand clutching Niri’s forearm. She shared an excited smile with Niri, glancing over at Ria as well. Her overflowing joy brought a smile to Ria’s lips in return, surfacing it through the sudden sadness that flooded her.
What will I do in Drufforth without her? It was an anxious thought.
Ria turned to see a look of pure hatred cross Ty’s face as he stared into the darkness towards Darag.
CHAPTER 17
DARAG’S PROMISE
Morning light flickered and moved through Lavinia’s borrowed bedroom like a living thing. A faint breeze fluttered the leaves in the interwoven branch walls of Beite’s home, sending light shimmering. Crystals hanging amidst the vines and branches sent colors dancing in the swinging light. Watching the random patterns, Lavinia lay still a few moments while she r
ecovered from her dream.
In it, Ty had left her again. She still saw her brother’s face from the night before. He had spoken to her only once after Laith Lus’ invitation to stay and that had been to ask if she was coming back to Drufforth.
“No, I want to stay here.” Lavinia had answered, wishing her brother would understand.
He had looked at her like she were a stranger. “We may leave while you are here with your new friends.” He had turned and stalked into the night.
Niri had touched her shoulder, distracting Lavinia from the chokehold her throat had on her lungs.
“Do not let him change your mind. We don’t have much time here. You should enjoy it.” Lavinia had huddled for a second in Niri’s arms, Ria wrapping her arms around her as well.
“Why can’t he be happy?”
“I don’t know. But it isn’t your job to make him happy. You are responsible for yourself.” Niri touched her cheek and let her go. “I will see you tomorrow,” she had said before walking off.
“Don’t worry, I don’t want to leave, not without you and Niri. Ty will stay too, you’ll see.”
Lavinia had nodded at Ria’s words, her chest loosening again. For one moment as she watched her brother and friends walk away, Lavinia had been alone among strangers. And then Darag had found her.
That memory gave her heart a quick beat at the same instant Beite, Darag’s younger sister stuck her head around the door. She blushed lightly finding Lavinia’s focus instantly on her, but bounced into the room anyway. Beite hopped onto the foot of the fragile looking wooden bed with more force than Lavinia thought reasonable.
“I didn’t want to wake you.”
“I’ve been awake, just watching the sunshine. I like the crystals in the branches.” Beite smiled, ducking her head to hide the blush that rose across her nearly white cheeks. Unlike Darag, Beite was white with faint grey mottling on her skin. Occasionally slashes of black broke the pale pattern including one across her cheek which gave Beite a fierce look. Her hair was reddish blond, even lighter than Ria’s golden locks. With all her pale coloring, Beite’s eyes were the most surprising. They were a deep brown, almost the color of black earth.
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