Mark if Destiny

by KT Webb

  “We are close. I can feel it!” Renata called over her shoulder.

  “I should hope so. This weather is getting ridiculous!” Rowan shouted in return.

  The wind whistled through the bowing trees. Just as Honor wondered how Harcos was faring above them, the canthion landed a few feet to her left and shook as though it would shed the water from his soaked coat.

  “A clearing exists not forty yards ahead. It may be the circle you spoke of,” Harcos told Renata.

  “That will be it. We will meet with Juniper there,” Renata replied.

  Whoever Juniper was, Honor could not imagine someone standing there, awaiting their arrival in the middle of such heavy rains. Who would be that crazy? Certainly not a human. Renata had called it a dryad circle; Honor decided Juniper must be a dryad.

  They continued their tumultuous trek, struggling as the ground beneath their feet sloshed under the impact of each step. Honor’s legs revolted as she pulled her feet from the sucking muck and pressed forward.

  They neared the top of a hill as thunder rumbled overhead and the sky lit up with lightning. Just above the crest, Honor made out a break in the circle of trees perfectly spaced around one gnarled tree at the middle. It stood taller than those around it as though it had been reaching toward the sky with each year of its life. Rough bark shielded every inch of the ancient tree. Honor had no idea what kind of tree it was, but from what she could see through the rain it looked like it was important.

  A voice carried above the roaring wind. “Friends of the crown, take refuge within. Enter here to find safety from the storm.”

  An opening appeared in the wide base of the center tree. Renata did not hesitate for a moment, she led them straight inside. The silence that accompanied the tree closing behind them was almost eerie. Honor nearly jumped out of her skin when a voice echoed through the darkness.

  “Welcome. I am pleased you found our friends, Renata. My name is Juniper, first of the old ones.”

  “It is nice to meet you, Juniper. I am Harcos, son of Jorel.”

  “Ah, your father has had many sons and lived many lives within the Gildi. I am pleased to make your acquaintance,” Juniper responded.

  “My name is Honor. This is my husband, Rowan.” The word felt strange in her mouth.

  “Oh yes, Honor. I know who you are. Welcome to the Kingdom of Earth, I look forward to helping you.”

  “Have you met Eirny?” Rowan asked, gently revealing the impaiso still tucked inside the bag under his arm.

  “I cannot say that I have, though, I have met her kind before. I dare say there are not many of you left.” Juniper smiled as though overcome by some distant memory.

  They had been walking for quite some time, and Honor was relieved her eyes were beginning to adjust to the darkness enough to make out the detail of the dryad. There was no doubt about his age. He had a mossy beard that hung loosely over his bare chest. A loin cloth made of leaves and twigs suspended around his waist, covering any body parts he may want to keep hidden. Honor pondered if dryads were anatomically designed like humans. She decided they must be if he felt the need to cover himself.

  Harcos snorted loud enough that everyone heard his laughter. He quickly cleared his throat, trying to cover his reaction to Honor’s thoughts. She mentally told him to get out of her head. Harcos silently replied that it was not exactly something he had learned to control.

  A scowl formed as she glared at Harcos, she did not have to think the message she was sending him. As she felt him drift to the back of her mind, he dared her to ask Juniper her question. Honor rolled her eyes at the canthion. Their connection was unavoidable, but there were times when she wished for a way to quell it. The canthion echoed her feelings from the corner she had sent him to. The others picked up on their non-verbal conversation and continued to watch them with interest. When neither was willing to share with the group, they gave up and began to follow Juniper in silence.

  When it seemed they had been walking for hours, they approached a fork in the tunnel. A faint light emanated from one choice, but darkness greeted them from the other. A marked drop in temperature sent shivers over Honor’s skin. Juniper wordlessly led them into the lighter tunnel. The cold intensified with each step. Frost crept along the walls of the cavern leaving tiny swirls in its wake.

  “Where are we?” Rowan asked through chattering teeth.

  Juniper pressed a hand against the smooth walls. “It will not be long until we reach Kilgore.”

  “Kilgore! That is not even officially in Alderwood, not to mention the complete opposite direction than we need to travel to get to Pallisaide.” Rowan’s surprise took over his physical discomfort.

  “Are you not searching for the future Queen?” Renata asked.

  Honor looked at the practitioner. She had not noticed the changes in her appearance until they began venturing into the tunnel with better lighting. Renata still looked old, but something about her age now gave way to power rather than frailty. She was stronger, more substantial than she had been before they entered the Kingdom of Earth.

  “Of course we are looking for her. Are you telling me she is in Kilgore?” Honor questioned.

  “She is. We have kept her protected all these years. She has lived with me from the day of her birth, in my caverns at Kilgore.”

  Honor stopped in her tracks. The only person she knew of who lived in Kilgore was the Oracle from the stories about King Junius’ coronation. Had Renata taken up residence there since the original inhabitant was not returning? And if Renata had known where the princess was all these years, why was she relying on Honor to get her to Pallisaide? The more Honor learned about the Alderwood that had been hidden from her, the more she wondered if destiny truly knew what it was doing. She was just a girl from the middle of nowhere. How was she supposed to help such powerful beings install the new Queen?

  “You have not yet realized who she is, have you?” Harcos whispered from the corner she had banished him to in her mind.

  “Who? Renata?” Honor replied wordlessly.

  “She has magic older than any other living creature in Alderwood. She wields a power that rivals the combined forces of the Shadow Mages. Renata has seen many kings come and go, but it has become her life’s mission to end King Junius.” Harcos’ tone told her she was missing more than she understood.

  The strands of her experiences and recollections of stories began to weave together bringing her a mental picture that depicted the seemingly long life of the practitioner. If Renata had been around long enough to see many kings come and go, she had to be very, very old. It took her much longer to put the final pieces together, and when she did, they almost made her angry. Renata was, in fact, the Oracle of Kilgore—the very person who had delivered a life-changing prophecy to a young king; the very person who had protected the heir to the throne and ensured Honors safety. Renata was no mere practitioner; she was the orchestrator of a complicated plot that stemmed back centuries and brought them to where they stood. Renata had the power to do so much, she had the knowledge Honor had been seeking her entire life, but she had chosen to stay hidden in a cave with the secret that would liberate Alderwood.

  “Wait. Renata, when were you going to tell us who you truly are?” Honor demanded, staying rooted to the spot.

  “I do not make it a habit of running around telling people my identity. It is quite dangerous for people to know I am still alive. I knew you would sort it out on your own, otherwise, you would find out when we reached Legacy.”

  “Legacy? I thought we were going to Kilgore,” Rowan offered, completely lost by the line of conversation.

  “Yes, dear, we are. Legacy is not a place; she is a person. She is the person this has all been about.”

  Honor’s eyes grew wide with shock. Of course, Rowan had only seen her mark for a matter of seconds, so he probably did not realize the name of the future Queen was already etched into Honor’s side.

  Beyond the mark itself, Honor flashed back to her v
isions. She recalled the young woman with the crown upon her head. It all seemed so long ago that she wondered if she had always known the name of the girl she sought.

  Her head was spinning, wrapping around the information and weaving it all together. Renata had been the practitioner in Milltown for as long as anyone could remember. She traveled a lot, but had she traveled enough to raise a child? As the Oracle of Kilgore, her power was unmatched, yet she had lived for years as the practitioner for a town in the far reaches of the kingdom.

  “Were you in Milltown for me?” Honor asked.

  “Yes. I have always known you were important, with your mother gone, I needed to stay close. I split my time between you and Legacy.”

  “What makes me so important? I’m not going to be Queen, why was I chosen to be given such a destiny?” A moment of realization washed over her, and she had to ask the question that suddenly burned in her mind. “Did you choose my destiny for me when you gave me my mark?”

  The question had a curious effect on the oracle. Honor had not meant for it to offend her, she merely felt it may be possible that the woman had bent destiny to her will. Harcos growled a string of objections in Honor’s mind. She ignored him. Even Juniper had taken offense to her line of questioning. Rowan stood to the side, leaning away from the impaiso who was peeking her head out of the satchel around his body. Eirny was chattering in her high-pitched voice, clearly upset.

  “Silence.” Renata held her hands up to put a halt to the clamor echoing off the tunnel walls. “Honor does not know what she is implying. She does not know the severity of her accusation. Let me explain.”

  Rowan looked at each creature in their party with a bewildered expression. He probably had not even followed Honor to the realization of who Renata truly was. Honor wished he could read her mind or understand the canthion, just so she would not have to explain everything. As though he read the expression on Honor’s face, Eirny began furiously whispering to Rowan. His expression changed from confusion to shock and then to concern in a matter of seconds.

  “Honor, the wild magic of Alderwood cannot be manipulated without giving oneself over to the darkness and greed within. What you are suggesting is that I have joined the ranks of the Shadow Mages, using the sacred power for my own design,” she paused to level her eyes with Honor’s. “As you know, I vehemently oppose the actions of our last two kings and would love to see the Makt come to an end. I am the last of my kind to remain on the side of light. My sister and brothers have allowed their lust for power to morph them into what we now call the Shadow Mages.”

  Honor blinked at the information she had just received. How could one person be so many things? Renata was a practitioner, a mage, the oracle, and the leader of a rebellion. Honor knew in her heart that someone who cared so deeply about restoring Alderwood to the way it was when things were peaceful would never jeopardize their goal by trying to control destiny.

  “I am sorry. You must know I am still learning so much about how this all works. Before I received my mark, I had never heard of the other kingdoms. I did not know about the Shadow Mages, and I thought you were long dead.”

  Renata placed a hand on Honor’s shoulder. “I understand why you questioned my motives. This has been very difficult for you, and it must seem as though everything is falling into place too easily. But these tiny victories have been fought for since the wild magic began to shift. I take my role very seriously and stand behind the power of Alderwood to the very end. You may not see why you are special yet, but the time is coming when you will.”

  Renata had calmed the other creatures with her words, she turned and continued the journey through the tunnel. It took Honor a moment to remember she was supposed to be following them to Kilgore. Her feet felt heavier than they had in the mud above ground, but she managed to follow the oracle without falling too far behind.

  “Do you still have the vault your mother had me make for you?” Renata asked over her shoulder.

  “Vault?” Honor repeated.

  “Yes, the capsule that requires a password. There is a letter from your mother within. I have a feeling reading it will answer many of your questions.”

  Honor looked at Rowan who readily hoisted Eirny from the pack and placed her on his shoulder. With a pounding heart, Honor plunged her hand beneath the leather sheath protecting the documents and found the capsule. There was a password she still did not know. Like everything else, Honor assumed the answer would be revealed to her when the time was right. She carried the capsule in her hands the rest of the journey, hoping she would somehow think of the right word key to gain access to whatever her mother wanted her to know.

  They continued along the frost-lined tunnel. Rowan walked beside her, whispering to Eirny the whole time. Harcos had tried to speak to Honor on more than one occasion, she continually shut him out. Her mind was preoccupied by the many revelations that had been brought to light. Rather than being irritated with Renata, she now felt as though they had a better chance of winning against the Makt. They had the oracle on their side. With her power, it would be far easier to rally the forces they needed to infiltrate Pallisaide and take down the king. As they walked, the walls of the tunnel gradually widened, and the temperature continued to drop. It was not long before Honor found herself standing in a wide cavern.

  While she knew they were underground, the room she found herself in made her question what she saw. It was without a doubt a cave, but the walls were adorned with brightly woven tapestries and large ornate mirrors. There were walls designed to separate rooms, and stairs leading to a higher section of the cave. Everything had been built from what was there naturally. It was amazing. Renata welcomed them to her home by inviting them to make themselves comfortable while she fetched Legacy.

  Honor’s nerves ran rampant. She knew that, even before her visions and receiving her mark, this had been where she was destined to be. Honor was meant to help Legacy make her way to Pallisaide and take her rightful place as Queen of Alderwood. Within moments, the young woman who must have been two years her senior, made her way down the sweeping stone staircase.

  “Honor, may I introduce you to Princess Legacy, heir to the throne of Alderwood?” Renata announced.

  Honor was not sure how to greet someone of royal blood. She stood stock still, looking for some indication of how she was supposed to behave. The princess was a beauty. She wore a simple, yet elegant, white dress with tiny gold and silver embellishments all over the bodice. There was no crown on her head, but the way she carried herself would have told anyone they were in the presence of royalty. Golden hair was swept into a braid around the crown of her head and neatly tucked into a bun at the back. Her emerald eyes reminded Honor of Spring. She realized she had been staring, so she dropped her head and gave a small bow.

  “Pleased to meet you, your highness.”

  Legacy laughed. “I am so happy to finally meet you, Honor. I have been told there would be a girl to lead the armies that will trample the Makt and destroy my treacherous father. I have seen your face in my dreams and know we will become the best of friends.”

  “Forgive me, your highness. I am still learning a lot about the world of magic hidden within Alderwood. What do you mean you have seen me in your dreams?” Honor asked.

  Legacy was nothing like Honor had expected a princess to be. Her smile was infectious and her tone of voice gentle. “I have had many dreams since receiving my mark. My visions started with this moment and ended with you placing the crown on my head.”

  Honor had never heard someone speak so freely about their mark of destiny. Maybe having been raised away from the Kingdom of Man had kept her from knowing there were certain things that were better left secret. No one else seemed put off by her statement, not even Rowan. He was too busy staring open-mouthed at the beautiful young woman who would become Queen. Honor rolled her eyes and nudged him.

  “I would like to introduce you to my husband, Rowan. The impaiso on his shoulder is Eirny, she saved my life. T
his is my canthion partner, Harcos. He says we will lead the Gildi to victory together. This is Juniper, but I assume you two have already met.”

  Legacy nodded to each and murmured her greetings. “I have known Juniper for a long while. It is good to see you again, Old Friend.”

  “Come, I will prepare a meal for us. Honor, perhaps you and Legacy should get to know one another better,” Renata suggested.

  Legacy agreed and took Honor by the hand the way village girls used to cling to their friends. Rowan offered assistance in the kitchen while the others milled about in the great room. Honor allowed Legacy to lead her through a series of doorways until they reached what Honor surmised must have been a courtyard in warmer weather. The frozen sheet of water that let in some faint light probably flowed freely as a waterfall when spring arrived. The two sat on a stone bench in the middle of the cavern.

  “Honor, I have felt connected to you for some time. I cannot explain it, but the nearest I can imagine is our destinies are so closely intertwined that our souls must know one another.”

  Honor had thought about Legacy since she had woken from her visions. When she first saw her, she had thought the girl may have been an older version of Honor, had their eyes and hair not been so drastically different. Honor’s honey-colored eyes must have come from her father, because Laurel had been a blue-eyed woman. Of course, Honor now knew that she and Legacy were different people. One destined to rule, the other destined to destroy.

  “I think I know what you mean. You have been in my visions, as well.” Honor did not want to share too much, still bound by the rules of the society she was raised in.