by C. L. Wilson
Ellie’s quintet accompanied them, along with thirty other Fey who, fortunately, were little more than dark shadows that she glimpsed now and again as she, Rain, and the twins walked through the streets to the riverfront park a scant mile upstream from the National Museum of Art.
As could only be expected, they garnered a following of curious Celierians, all of whom were suddenly inspired to take in the view of the Velpin River at sunset.
Though the Fey warriors deterred the onlookers from venturing too near, Ellie was painfully aware of the many eyes focused on her party as they made their way to the park. The stares made her realize just whose company she was keeping, and how inadequate and inexperienced she must seem to him.
“What are you thinking?” Rain asked after the silence between them had dragged on for several chimes.
“I was just thinking that I must seem very young to you,” she admitted.
“Aiyah. Indeed you do.”
“I’m sorry.” She clasped her work-roughened hands before her and stared hard at her ragged fingernails. “I’m sure you would have preferred someone older, more experienced.”
“Nei, you misunderstand. If anything, I envy you.” When she cast him a startled, disbelieving glance, he nodded. “It is true. To you, everything is still fresh and new. That has its own appeal to someone like me. I had forgotten, you see, what wonder felt like. You have reminded me.” He paused. “Those older, more experienced women, they have lost their wonder too, and in their endless searching for something to make them feel it again, they have let darkness into their souls. I would never prefer that.”
They had reached the park, and with a natural courtly charm, Rain Tairen Soul opened the gate and ushered her into the park. Thick, green grass rolled out before them like a carpet, while brown graveled paths offered stately, symmetrical walks bordered by blooming flowerbeds and immaculate hedges. Benches sat in select locations alongside the river and beneath the shady canopy of sheltering trees. The clear, Fey-cleansed purity of the Velpin flowed past, singing its soft water music. Rain led her to the walk that bordered the steep granite embankment. There, they stood together and watched the Great Sun set over Celieria, while Lillis and Lorelle played Stones nearby.
“It is beautiful,” Ellie murmured as the last golden-red rays of sunlight glimmered on the water.
“Aiyah. Celieria has always been beautiful.”
As twilight settled over the city, the warm glow of candlelight rose up from thousands of street lamps to replace the brightness of the Great Sun. Once, long ago, the lamps had been lit by small armies of lamplighters carrying lit wicks from lamp to lamp, but now a Fey Fire-spell performed the task in one magical moment each evening. It was one of the gifts from the Fey, like the Velpin Water-cleansing spell, that had been bestowed centuries ago when Marikah vol Serranis became Celieria’s queen.
“It’s been a thousand years since last you were here,” Ellie said. “What was it like then?”
“Not so different from now. Many of the buildings are new, which I would expect, given all the years that have passed, but the city itself remains remarkably unchanged. Except, of course, there are no Elden Mages wandering the streets and working their evil in the palace, thank the gods. And the only Fey here are the ones that came with Marissya.”
“Do the Fey despise all Eld, or just the Mage families?”
He gave her a sharp look. “Why do you ask?”
She shrank back from the suspicion in his eyes and the sudden frightening fierceness of his expression. “N-no particular reason,” she stammered. “I was just curious. A number of Eld families have come to live in Celieria over the last few decades—none from Mage lines, of course—but they’ve always been quite nice to me.”
His hand shot out to capture hers. “Who? Who are these Eld you have befriended?”
Shocked, she tried to pull her hand away. “I haven’t befriended any of them,” she protested. It wasn’t technically a lie. Selianne wasn’t Eld, she was Celierian born and bred. “And even if I had, it wouldn’t be your business.”
“You are my truemate. Any Eld folk who’ve befriended you are utterly my business. Give me their names, Ellysetta.” When she set her jaw and remained stubbornly silent, his eyes narrowed. “Must I summon Marissya?”
Fear shot into Ellie’s heart at the thought of the Truthspeaker invading her mind and stripping her soul bare, but even that frightening threat wasn’t enough to make Ellie betray her dearest friend. Her spine went stiff. “If you ever order the shei’dalin to Truthspeak me, I assure you, I will never accept your bond.”
Rain released her hand as if it burned him and spun away.
Bel, who had fallen back to give them a measure of privacy, took one look at their set, angry faces and stepped forward to mend the breach. “Ellysetta, kem’falla, you must understand, we have dealt with the Eld for centuries before you were born. The Feyreisen has only your safety at heart. The Eld can do you great harm.”
“Because the Mages soul-bind their followers to them,” Rain snarled, “enslaving them for their own evil purposes. Once a soul is claimed by the Mages, that person’s will is no longer his own. A man would slay his own parents, even his own children, if the Mages ordered him to do so.”
A muscle flexed in Rain’s jaw. Not even to please his shei’tani would he abandon a millennium of suspicion and outright hatred for all things Eld. What the Eld touched, they corrupted. Even an Eld who loved Ellysetta the woodcarver’s daughter could be turned into a tool for the Mages to use against Ellysetta the Tairen Soul’s mate. Through Ellysetta, the Mages could strike a mortal blow to the entire Fey race.
“Promise me you will not go near anyone with Eld blood, especially not someone born in that cursed land.” His voice was a whip cracking with the demand for complete obedience.
“But—”
“Nei! You are innocent of the evil in the world, Ellysetta. You have no idea what the Mages are capable of, what they will do to accomplish their goals.” Her chin was set stubbornly, and Rain forced himself to take a deep breath. For thousands of years, the daughters of Celieria had been taught obedience from the cradle. How was it that his shei’tani was the one Celierian girl in the whole miserable kingdom who had not? “Ellysetta…shei’tani…I am sorry I threatened to summon Marissya. I should not have done so. But promise me you will never again go near these Eld. The danger is too great. Even to them. Your presence would bring them to the attention of the Mages.”
Her out-thrust chin lowered. Uncertainty crept into her expression. That possibility had obviously not occurred to her. “They would be in danger because of me?”
“The gravest danger.”
Tears filled her eyes. She blinked them back quickly, but he saw them. And the sight nearly broke his heart. “You have my word,” she vowed, her voice barely audible.
“Beylah vo. Thank you.” He reached out, wanting to comfort her and mend the breach between them, but she turned away and took a quick step to avoid his touch. He grimaced. Less than one day into his courtship and he’d already all but alienated his shei’tani completely. Marissya would scorch his ears if she knew how badly he was bungling.
Gravel crunched beneath his booted heel as he turned, looking for something, anything, to distract Ellysetta. His eyes fell upon the twins, who had ceased playing Stones and were now begging Kieran and Kiel to show them some Fey magic.
“So you would like to see Fey magic, would you?” The forced heartiness in his own voice sounded false to Rain’s ears, but the twins didn’t seem to notice. Their eyes lit up and their little mouths curved wide in eager grins.
“Oh, yes, My Lord Feyreisen! Please!”
“My name is Rain. You may call me that.” He held out his hands to them. “Come, I will show you some magic my father once showed me.”
“You have a father?” Lorelle took his hand without hesitation, though Lillis held back.
“I did. He died in the Mage Wars along with so many of my people. Hi
s name was Rajahl vel’En Daris. He was a Tairen Soul, like me.” He remembered his father as a proud, somber man, devoted to his mate, his son, and the protection of the Fey. What gentleness his father had retained was reserved for his family, and Rain still treasured the memory of his father’s rare, beautiful smiles and his even rarer laughter.
“He died with your mother, the Lady Kiaria, at the Battle of Torrin’s Pass,” Ellie said.
Rain shot her a startled look. “Aiyah. He did, though I am surprised you know of it. Torrin’s Pass was a terrible battle, but very small. I would not have thought it made the history books.”
“It didn’t, at least not as more than a footnote. I read about it in an old book of Fey poetry.”
“Ellie reads lots of Fey poetry,” Lillis offered, now venturing to put her small hand in his.
“She’s read lots and lots about you,” Lorelle informed him. “And she knows the poem Rainier’s Song by heart. All of it.” Which, apparently, was an amazing feat.
“Does she?” Rain’s brows arched. Though lamplight made it difficult to be certain, he thought his shei’tani was blushing. He opened his Fey senses and became certain. She was blushing, furiously. Curious. “I am not familiar with this poem.”
Relief at his ignorance warred with shock on Ellysetta’s face. It was as if he’d admitted to some terrible crime not to know the poem. “It’s one of the most famous poetic works in Celierian history,” she exclaimed. “Required reading in all Celierian schools.”
“Ah.” There was a poem, about him he assumed, that was required reading in all Celierian schools. Incredible.
«They have put the poem to music, theater, opera, and ballet as well.» Bel’s amused voice sounded in his mind.
Rain shot his friend a dark look before turning his attention back to Ellysetta. “Then, of course, I must hear this poem. Would you recite a little?”
Ellie shook her head, avoiding his gaze. “I don’t have the voice to do it justice.”
“Yes, you do!” Lillis exclaimed.
“She performed it at the All Souls’ Eve pageant at our school just last fall,” Lorelle added.
“So what is this magic your father showed you, My Lord Feyreisen?” Ellie asked quickly.
“Rainier, please. Or Rain. Or shei’tan, if you prefer.” In a rare show of tairen-mischief, his lips curved up at the corners. “Else I’ll insist you recite this poem.”
Ellie’s breath caught in her throat. The tiny smile softened the coldness of his face; the sparkle of mischief warmed his eyes. His legendary Fey beauty stunned her senses, but it was the unexpected flash of gentle, laughing humanity that stole a place in her heart.
“Rain,” she whispered.
His eyes flared bright. She gasped and pressed a hand to her pounding heart. In an instant, the world ceased to exist except for him. He wasn’t touching her, and yet she knew he was clutching her to him with every Fey sense he possessed.
Then, abruptly, she was free, her knees so weak she thought she might collapse.
“Sieks’ta. I’m sorry,” he muttered, dragging a hand through his hair. “Your father was right to complain about my lack of control.” He grimaced, then forced a pleasant expression on his face and took the twins’ hands again. “Come. I will show you this magic. I think you will like it.” He escorted them to a riverside bench partially secluded by the long, leafy branches of a burlwood tree, and stood beside the bench as Ellie and the twins sat. Bel and the rest of his quintet formed a protective semicircle behind them.
“Watch the river,” Rain instructed. He raised his hands and summoned Water and Fire, easily blending the weaves until spouts of crystalline water fountained up in the center of the river, each fountain lit from within by various colors of Fire.
At his command, Fire and Water danced together in the shimmering patterns of Cha Baruk, the Dance of Knives. A circle of five fountains splashed in perfect symmetry. They sprayed up in a bright flare of light, whirled, and began to move in a perfect circular clockwise motion. A tiny bright blue spurt of water jumped from across the circle, looking exactly like a glowing dagger tossed across a small distance. Another blue blade of water was returned. The number of water blades increased, cartwheeling across the center of the circle until Fire and Water formed a glowing dome of flashing blue lights performing a stunning aerial display.
Water-blades still flying, the five fountains split into five new circles, each with its own dome of flashing Fire-lit Water-knives in a different color, while the blue blades, increasing exponentially in number, continued to dance from circle to circle. The twenty-five fountains became a hundred twenty-five, and now there were thousands of Fire-lit Water-blades flashing an endless rainbow of colors.
Crowds had gathered on both sides of the river and on the bridges to watch the Tairen Soul work his magic. Ellie and the twins gaped at the incredible display in awestruck silence.
Rain shifted the weave from the fierce exuberance of the Cha Baruk to the gently flowing Felah Baruk, the Dance of Joy. The Cha Baruk fountains subsided, and ten new fountains arose to dance in an interweaving loop. Five tall, fierce jets of water circled five gently arcing fountains that twirled slowly within the weave. Watching, Ellie could almost see Fey women bending and swaying seductively as their fierce suitors paid court.
Each twirling fountain, orbited by its fierce protector, danced in an ever tightening ring until they all merged into a single huge plume of water from which rose a blaze of Fire in the shape of a tairen rampant. Burning white, then red, then purple, the Fire tairen roared at the onlookers and lit up the night sky with an exploding blossom of flame before sinking back into the shrinking fountain and disappearing beneath the surface of the river. The light of Fire slowly faded, and the water grew still once more.
After a moment of utter silence, thunderous applause exploded from all sides of the river. Lillis and Lorelle jumped up and down, clapping their hands and clamoring for more. Ellysetta sat in stunned silence, feeling her heart clench into a tight knot.
“You must be very powerful.”
Ellie didn’t realize she had spoken aloud until Rain replied, “All men of the Fey are powerful, but I am the Tairen Soul, Defender of the Fey. A Tairen Soul is a master of all Fey magics.” He looked out over the night-darkened river, glimmering now only with the golden lights of the lamps that lined the streets and bridges. “And I am a very powerful Tairen Soul.”
He stood so straight, so tall. So alone. A bulwark of strength standing between his people and the world. Though he had not said as much in words, his skills set him apart, made him different from everyone around him. She knew what it meant to be different. Even when she was among those who loved her most, there was always a part of her that felt lonely, outside the close bond of sameness that everyone else seemed to share.
She reached out and took his hand. She felt him tense as her fingers closed around his; then he gave a little shudder and pulled her to her feet so he could wrap his arms around her. Need and violent passion raged in him, but she felt him battle it back, control it, cage it. That took strength, too, she realized. Immense strength, which he exerted with such fierce will because he did not want to frighten her. She feared both his magic and the savageness that lived in his soul, could not imagine ever having access to such seemingly limitless power, but she also understood what it was to be alone and to long for acceptance and the warmth of a loving embrace.
Her prayer went up, silent but heartfelt, Dear gods, grant him peace.
His body went stiff, then trembled faintly. When she would have pulled back in concern, his arms clutched her tight. “Nei, shei’tani, do not leave me just yet. Let me hold you a while longer.” She felt his lips press against her hair, felt his need for her down to her soul, and for this moment in time she did not feel alone.
They stood there by the Velpin for many long, silent chimes, the woodcarver’s daughter and the man who had once almost destroyed the world, the man whose face was now drawn in lines o
f mingled joy and anguish.
CHAPTER NINE
Ellie wandered, blind and searching, through a dark, black cavern lit only by the faint light of distant flickering fires. The air was hot and heavy, burning her lungs so that her breath rasped harshly in the tomblike silence. Perspiration beaded on her skin.
A rustle sounded down one wide tunnel, a growl, low and dangerous. Fear skated across her nerves, but she followed the sound, drawn to it against her will. Something hissed behind her, making her jump. She turned, squinting into the shadows, but if something was there she could not see it. Heart pounding, she continued forward, one shaky step after another, down a black, twisting tunnel, using the feel of rough rock beneath one hand to guide the way. The glow of red-orange light grew brighter.
Without warning, the dark tunnel opened up to a wide, deep cavern. There, in the flickering shadows beside a river of molten lava, a great black tairen crouched over a torn, bloody carcass, feeding. The carcass moved. A human hand lifted weakly. A ravaged face turned to her. Selianne’s blue eyes stared out at her through rivulets of thick, dark blood.
Ellie woke with a sudden jerk and a ringing cry, sitting up and gasping for air.
She was at home, in her bedroom. To her surprise, soft morning sunlight streamed through her bedroom window. Usually her nightmares came in the deepest dark of night, not so close to dawn.
“Ellysetta! Kem’falla, are you all right?” Belliard’s voice sounded outside her door.