Forsaken Secrets: A slow-burn new adult fantasy romance (Isle of the Forsaken Book 1)

by Olivia K Moto

  "Remember, your aunt's life depends on you."

  My hands hurt from clenching them so hard. But he was right. I'd do whatever he needed to keep her safe.

  So, I searched his korra for some clue how to do this bond.

  When I'd helped Lunei, it had been intuitive. Maybe this would be similar?

  Just like his wife's, his korra was mostly black, and amongst the strands were little threads. Most were pulsing black ooze, but a few were golden and bright.

  Were those the bonds?

  They lead out of him and to other korras around the room. I looked down at myself and gasped. I had them going in and out of me, too!

  "The oozing ones are corrupted, either by creating them through force or a relationship that's deteriorated too far. The golden ones, though, those are natural and have the possibility to grow into something strong and beautiful," he explained, tracing one of the golden bonds — the one between me and Aunt Grace.

  Could I take one of my bonds and move it to him?

  I tried to grab it, but my hands just slid through them like they were smoke. Damn.

  "Just push, Miss Maderoth."

  I suppose that was what I'd done with Lunei.

  So, I pushed my korra towards him. And just like last time, where I pushed, a little strand followed — this one a tarnished silver color.

  Could I tie it to him like I had her? I pressed it to his chest, but nothing happened. It clung to me like a skirt on a dry day.

  What if I stabbed it in, though?

  Pulling all that anger from deep inside me, I pushed it into that tiny silver strand. As I watched, the thin strand pulsed and expanded, making a thicker silver rope complete with a sharp tip.

  I readied myself to stab him with it, but he stood there with his eyes pressed closed as though he knew what I was going to do.

  Gods. What had made him go to such great lengths for those people? I couldn't even fault him for wanting to help.

  But the way he'd done it …

  Surely, if my aunt had loved him once, he hadn't always been this way, though?

  Could I pull him in, return him to humanity?

  Then I remembered Lunei and Solyn — those scars and lost years together because of him, and I hardened my heart.

  No. That bastard deserved whatever came to him.

  He screamed as the bond slammed into his chest and the sound reverberated in my head like nails on glass. It set my hair on end.

  As it settled, though, I felt it … that tenuous connection to him.

  I could feel his essence on the other end, and if I tugged I could pull it through the bond.

  Aghast, I stared down at the silver cord. Was this what a bond mage did? Attack people?

  If so, I wanted nothing more to do with it! It felt putrid and wrong in every way.

  "Thank you, Miss Maderoth. Now, if you'd follow me? We'll need to be quick about it. Things are … less safe … the deeper we go." His words were stilted and tight, like he'd just finished climbing a cliff face. Then he disappeared.

  I looked around, confused, but he was nowhere to be seen.

  Just how was I supposed to follow him through this mess? The korras surrounding me drew nearer; the bonds reaching out like tentacles searching for their next meal.

  My heart stuttered as one brushed my arm, and I desperately reached for Ellingsworth.

  He might be evil, but at least he knew where he was going.

  54

  Kaiya

  I tugged on his korra and felt myself disconnect completely from the physical realm, my korra catapulting forward down that silver bond.

  When I opened my eyes again, I gasped. This place was similar to the real world, but so very different. I gasped as what looked like clouds flowed past, sticking to me and then bouncing away again. They wove against each other as though they were alive …

  In the distance, below the river of clouds, there was something dark — ominous.

  I shied away from it, allowing myself to relax and float with the clouds. But as I relaxed, I felt myself drifting away. Where did I end and the next cloud begin? Who was I?

  "Kaiya. Not here. This is the spirit realm. You will lose yourself if you stay too long here." Ellingsworth's voice grounded me, and I shook off the strange sensations. He took off, and I chased after him, catapulting forward along that silver bond, again.

  When I opened my eyes this time, it was to a world completely devoid of life. Rain fell silently around me, but I couldn't feel it. Waves rose in choppy breaks across the ocean, but they made no noise. And there, at the center of it all, was a man.

  He stood, shoulders hunched, in the center of a small island. Was that Ellingsworth?

  Everything about him was focused on a portal of some sort — the stone frame bracketing a glass image. In it, a little girl with blonde hair and rosy cheeks, waved up at him. His shoulders shook, and then the image shifted. Now the little girl was lying still in a coffin, her face peaceful.

  I shook my head. No. I didn't want to see this!

  "No, no. This is the mind realm. You must do all three at once." Lord Ellingsworth said, his eyes puffy and red as he turned from the portal to face me before disappearing again. I chased after him once more.

  When I opened my eyes, I gasped. Darkness surrounded me from every side, except for the colorful korras. So this was the korra realm …

  Where the essences had always been strands of color weaving into each other, now they were intersecting planes. The three realms, perhaps?

  I stared at Ellingsworth's korra. Darkness permeated all three planes, and just staring at them gave me a small sense of what was inside.

  Ellingsworth motioned towards another korra beside us.

  The planes were covered by what looked like some sort of web? I stepped closer and gasped. Each strand of the web stretched out to the korras around us. There were hundreds to Ellingsworth and dozens more stretching to other korras.

  Were these all bonds? Had Ellingsworth been bonding his followers to this person? Was that how he was healing them?

  I felt sick at the thought.

  "Meet the Drake." Ellingsworth gestured towards the person proudly.

  I gaped. I thought this was the Druid? "The Drake? I don't understand …" I stared at the creature … Drake … whatever. He was so trapped that all I could see were the bonds, and if he was communicating with Ellingsworth, I'd seen no sign of it.

  So how were they working together?

  And wasn't the Drake supposed to be a dragon? Had history gotten it wrong? Were the Druid and the Drake somehow one and the same?

  If he'd condoned the mess Ellingsworth had created, what did that mean?

  No. The legendary healing Druid would never condone that!

  I shook my head. "This makes no sense. How'd he get here? How did he heal you? And how am I supposed to help?"

  Ellingsworth tsked. "That's a very long story, which I'm sure he'll explain once you set him free. Your only job is simple … .cut those bonds."

  "All of them?" I asked, gesturing towards the mess. "Is that even possible?"

  He shook his head. "No, those must remain. You need to cut those." He pointed to a point behind the Drake.

  I shifted until I saw what Ellingsworth was pointing at and gasped. Instead of reaching out to other korras like the majority of bonds, these strands were thick, pulsing cords of oozing black sludge and fell straight down into the darkness below us …

  What were they? Why did they feel so familiar?

  I tried to move down them like I had with Ellingsworth's, but cold spines dug into my korra and I had to stop.

  "How do I cut it?"

  Ellingsworth reached out, shaping his korra into a long thin blade-like shape, then he swiped it down between himself and the trapped person. I stared as one strand that had connected the two korras shriveled and fell away.

  How had he changed his korra like that? Could I do it, too? I looked down at the strange bonds, then back at Elli
ngsworth.

  "If you can do it, why do you need me?"

  He frowned, dispersing his sword thing. "I've tried many, many times … but those bonds are too strong for me to break. When I get close, my korra just dissipates."

  So he wanted me to cut something that he'd failed at? Me? An untrained bond mage?

  "Remember your Aunt, Miss Maderoth. Time is of the essence."

  I gritted my teeth and focused. Carefully, I prodded at my korra until it vaguely resembled what Ellingsworth used.

  Mine was wider in the center … more like the scimitar I'd seen Lynk use. Anger shot through me at the memory of him, and I channeled it into the blade as I swiped down on the first bond.

  The bond held, and I shuddered as my blade vibrated against my palm.

  Perhaps if I tried again?

  I tugged on the blade, but it didn't budge.

  I tugged again, and with a single jolt, the bond burst, sending small bits of smokey dust everywhere.

  I leaped back. What just happened?! How …

  "It worked! I knew it!" Lord Ellingsworth said, his voice hoarse in my mind. "Keep going! We're almost out of time."

  I nodded and went for another one, faster this time. Each strand fell within seconds of me cutting it until finally there was just one left.

  Focus thrumming through me, I pulled back the scimitar and swung it through the bond. The thick strand broke apart instantly … but I wasn't done. Instead of pulling the blade back to me, I used the momentum to send it soaring through the air and straight at Ellingsworth.

  He jumped back, surprise and fear twinging through our bond as the silvery rope between us shriveled and fell.

  "You shouldn't have done that. You really shouldn't have done that," he said, eyes concerned as he looked around us.

  I grinned. I was free! I just needed to get out of here and save Aunt Grace, because there was no way in the seven hells that Drake was going to do it. His korra looked nothing like a druid.

  A sound echoed in the distance, like loud thumping on a stone floor …

  "I'm so sorry Miss Maderoth. If only you'd listened …" Lord Ellingsworth said, voice tight as he frantically searched the surrounding darkness. "I will keep my promise and save your aunt, but you are on your own. Goodbye." Then he and the Drake disappeared.

  I tried to follow, but without that anchor, I was lost!

  Oh gods. I was alone.

  Completely alone in the cold, empty darkness.

  Thump.

  Or perhaps the not so empty darkness. A shiver coursed through my body and I looked around.

  Where were those sounds coming from?

  I really needed to get out of here.

  Thump.

  I frantically reached out along my bonds, tugging on each until I found the strongest. I could feel Aunt Grace through it — not her emotions, but the essence of her … her korra.

  "Hello?" I said, reaching out, hoping I could communicate like I had with Lord Ellingsworth.

  She didn't respond, so I pushed harder, trying to move along the bond like I had before.

  But something tugged at me from the opposite direction …

  Thump.

  No, no, no. This was not the time!

  I looked down to see a bond almost identical to those I'd just cut, extending out from me in the same direction as the Drake's had.

  Mine had none of those black thorns, though, and it was almost completely translucent.

  Was this because of what I'd done? Or had that bond always been there, hidden like that shard in my back?

  It felt familiar … like a part of me, somehow.

  But what was it?!

  Gods. I looked around, desperate for some other way to escape before whatever was making that thumping noise arrived.

  Could I cut this bond like I had the Drake's? Then I could follow my bond to Aunt Grace, and everything would be fine.

  Reaching out, I reformed my korra blade and put all my strength into it before slicing down.

  The bond just reverberated beneath the onslaught, and my korra blade unraveled.

  Thump.

  The sound was much closer now. My breath came fast as I peered deeper into the korra realm. Was the source something I could see?

  Oh gods! I needed to get out of here!

  Heart racing, I reached down, ripping at the bond with my fingers this time. With each rip, icy cold spread through my fingertips, burning me. I yelped.

  A sudden loud screech made me duck. Then something brushed my elbow.

  Knees weak, I reached out for whatever I could, desperate to be free of this mess.

  And then I was falling, tumbling through the darkness once more …

  55

  Eli

  Stone hallways slid past me as I ran through the facility beneath the Ellingsworths. I had to get to Kaiya. The creatures in the walls called to me, telling me where to go, but I feared I'd be too late.

  Solyn had agreed to my proposal, but it would take time. Riarlo had to gather those gremlyns to free her, they had to gather her pod, and then all of them had to come find me.

  Gods. I hoped we had enough time.

  A low hum through the doors ahead made me come to an abrupt halt. Had I made it?

  I crept to the entrance, a stone archway carved into the bedrock. I'd passed the edge of the ruins a while back. This was pure, man-carved stone.

  Carefully, I peered around the entrance.

  The room was full of people in dark cloaks, and at the front that terrible vicar was talking to them. He was too far away for me to hear, but the way he was motioning made me think it was nothing pleasant.

  Directly behind him loomed a tall stone statue depicting a dragon of some sort? I narrowed my eyes. Something about it felt real, like it was alive and just sleeping … but I couldn't feel its korra …

  That made no sense at all.

  And where was Kaiya?

  I needed to get closer …

  Moving quietly, I crept along the edge of the room, thankful there were pillars to stand behind. There! By its feet.

  There were two women, tied to chairs, heads lolling to the side.

  One was in an elaborate gown of some sort, and the other in just a plain cloak.

  Could that be Kaiya? Gods, I hoped not. Jaiel and Lynk were supposed to get down here and save her before something like this happened!

  I crept closer, ignoring the warning chimes in my skull that this was too risky. There was no back-up yet, and I hadn't told Lynk and Jaiel where Kaiya was. But I had to know!

  If I could just get close enough to see..

  I checked the room again, hoping for a new avenue to reach the front. Nothing! This was the only remotely private area in the room, and it stopped far before the dais that the man, dragon, and women were on.

  "Riarlo, any news?"

  "Solyn is free, and we're on our way, but they're giant leviathans, my lord! It takes time …"

  I grimaced. Of course it did. I looked at the women again. From this distance, at least, there was no blood. Surely they wouldn't have just killed them and left them sitting there?

  No. They had to be alive.

  Kaiya had to be alive.

  I wouldn't let myself think otherwise.

  I just needed to keep the people distracted long enough for the vrytra to get here and help.

  Taking a breath and trying to project a bit of Jaiel's confidence, I slipped on my best smile and sauntered out of the shadows. "Gooood evening, everyone! Am I late for the party?" Gods, this was probably the most idiotic idea I'd had in a long time.

  Heads turned, and my stomach lurched. I hadn't thought about how it would feel to have 100 eyes staring at me from beneath hooded robes. They weren't friendly stares, either.

  I laughed awkwardly and lifted my hand to my neck. "Oh, sorry. I think this is the wrong …"

  Arms tugged at me, pulling my hands behind my back, and I gasped as a shock jolted through my body. It felt like fire and ice split eve
ry vein in half, and I dropped to the ground.

  What was that?

  "Bring him here," a steady voice said, interrupting my thoughts. I tried to look up, but my eyes blurred and my skin still twitched.

  Hands tugged at me and threw me across someone's shoulders. Were they carrying me like a bag of feed?

  Cautiously, I peered through my hair, hoping to glimpse the women. My head bounced with every step, though, and my vision wavered.

  "Ahh. It's that Reaper nephew of the Harlsteds. Check him, then rough him up a little, and put him by the girl. Ellingsworth can deal with him when he returns." The vicar! That voice belonged to him. I was sure of it. At least he didn't know who I really was.

  The man holding me grumbled something back, but did as ordered and took me towards the tall stone statue.

  Gods, I didn't want to be roughed up. Especially not by this behemoth of a man!

  But when we reached the dragon, he pulled me off his shoulder and dropped me unceremoniously to the ground.

  Another man strode over and bent down. "Are you ready to fight, little man?"

  I just laughed. "Now why would I do that? You'll just hit me harder."

  The man shrugged. "Fair enough. Let's just hope you don't have any dangerous items on your person. That would make this … tricky." He ran his hands over my entire body, pausing at the round stone in my waistcoat. Damn, I'd really hoped he wouldn't notice the relic, not that I'd really thought any of this through. If I could get it to Kaiya's aunt, though …

  I looked at the man again. But he'd already tossed the relic to the vicar, who was staring at it with bright eyes.

  Gods, let him not use it! The idea of his tainted korra touching that stone made me sick! No. I couldn't watch.

  I closed my eyes and waited for something, anything, to happen.

  Finally, the taller man spoke, his voice pitched low, "He's clear." Were they really going to beat me in front of all those people … while they were doing the ceremony? What kind of ceremony was this?

  A wrenching weight hit the center of my gut and my stomach rebelled, immediately returning all the food I'd eaten that day.

  The man just laughed. "Lookit that, Gav. Even the food didn't want to be with him no more."