Tears formed in his green eyes. “For five years, Rika and I were utterly alone. Why didn’t anybody try to find me Danielle?”
She shook her head. “We didn’t know. I didn’t know you existed until a month ago. The moment my father received word from Patron Tyrell, he sent a team to find you. That’s why I’m here today. I insisted on coming.”
Ronan stared through bleary eyes holding silent for a long moment.
“Ronan, if you need further proof, you’ll get it when you see Connal Deveaux. You could pass for his twin.”
Ronan looked at her through wet green eyes. “Why did they separate us Danielle? Weren’t we a family?”
A heavy ache settled inside Danielle’s chest, and her chin quivered. “I feel that same ache Ronan. I feel cheated and angry with papa.” She paused to compose herself. “He said they did it to protect us. Meranthian monarchs had sealed their borders for two thousand years. Hate and intolerance filled Meranthia, and they didn’t think it safe to reveal their relationship. When King Torr died, mother seized the chance to change hearts and minds. She couldn’t bear to leave us both in Ayralen, so she took you with her. Ronan, she invented the story about the knight. He existed, that’s true, but he played along out of duty.”
“Why did they wait so long? Relations were good between our countries when mother ruled,” Ronan said.
Danielle nodded. “She planned to tell you after the shard tournament, and then papa would tell me. But…”
“But Merric Pride murdered her.” Ronan said finishing off her sentence.
“Yes. Papa couldn’t bear telling me after that. He wanted to spare me the pain. These last five years have taken a hard toll on him. They never stopped loving each other Ronan. I’ve seen the letters. Hundreds of them. He lost his wife and son on the same day, and he couldn’t tell a soul.”
“You’ll have to excuse me if I don’t see his side of it. I cradled our mother’s head while she bled to death Danielle. I was a fifteen year old boy.” His voice trembled over the words.
Danielle’s stomach hardened, and she fought back tears straining for release. “I’m so sorry Ronan,” she said in a hoarse whisper.
“Mother tried to tell me. The day of the shard tournament I mean. She never got the chance,” Ronan said. “Rika Finn alone has made life worth living. Without her I’d be dead. Please spare me lectures about Connal Deveaux’s hard times,” he said.
“Ronan, please don’t hold this against Connal. The day he received word from Patron Tyrell that you lived was the happiest I’ve ever seen him. It’s like he’s reborn.”
“I’m so glad for him,” Ronan said.
Danielle sighed picking up on the sarcastic tone. “Do you honestly think he would’ve allowed me to come here if this weren’t important to him? His wife died, and his only two children are directly in harm’s way. He’s gambled everything.”
Ronan sighed and slumped onto a moss covered log. “I’m numb right now Danielle. In the last three hours, I’ve rescued Rika, lost the only father I’ve ever known, and discovered I have a family.”
She wrapped her arm around him and leaned her head against his shoulder. “Life’s funny that way I suppose.”
“Thank you,” he said.
She lifted her head and stared at him. “For what?”
He smiled. “You came here. To Meranthia I mean. You could’ve sent someone else. I’m a stranger to you.”
“I’d never send someone else, and you’re not a stranger. You’re my brother, and I love you,” she said.
“But, you don’t even know me. I could be some crazed killer.”
She barked out a short hard laugh. The laughter started deep in her belly, where everything good starts, and came up as easy as summer afternoon. “Come on Ronan. Let’s go get the horses.” She stood and offered her hand.
He pulled himself up and placed his arm around her. “I’m glad you’re here Danielle.”
Warmth spread through her chest and along her legs. She smiled and squeezed his hand as a missing piece of her soul snapped into place. “Me too.”
***
Reggie snorted and shook his head as he cantered through the pine trees and entered the clearing. Cocoa, Kelwin’s dark brown mare, followed without complaint.
Ronan stroked the skittish stallion’s ebony-maned neck. Reggie never carried anyone but Patron Tyrell. He considered it a minor miracle the stallion had carried him this far without throwing him. “Easy boy. I know. I feel the same way.”
Betty whinnied as she came through the thicket with Danielle astride.
At the clearing’s center, a campfire crackled under a pine canopy sending wisps of smoke drifting into the crisp afternoon sky. Seated around the blazing fire, Rika, Keely, and Kelwin glanced toward the noisy horses as they trotted into the clearing.
Ronan dropped Cocoa’s reigns and dismounted as Kelwin and Keely approached. “Are Rika and Keely okay?”
“Yes. I treated their exhaustion with restoration elixir, but they need sleep.” Kelwin picked up Cocoa’s loose reigns. “I’m glad to see you return safely,” Kelwin said.
Keely spoke in whispered undertones as she stroked Reggie’s neck, and the horse calmed. He nestled his dark nose in the crook of her shoulder and snorted.
Ronan nodded. “Thank you Kelwin.” He gripped Betty’s bridle and ran his gloved hand along her white striped nose. “You did well Betty. Thanks for going easy on her.”
The mare whinnied and snorted her approval.
Danielle struggled to free her feet of the stirrups, and she wobbled losing her balance.
A radiant smile lit Rika’s face as she watched Ronan standing by the campfire. Her color had returned to her cheeks, and her gray eyes sparkled from the yellow glow of the campfire’s light.
A mischievous grin spread across Ronan’s face, and his pulse quickened. He took two steps toward Rika when he noticed Danielle’s struggle from the corner of his eye. Without thought, he slid to Betty’s side and reached up slipping a hand on either side of Danielle’s thin waist just above her curvy hips.
Danielle braced herself on Ronan’s wrists, and he eased her to the ground as if she weighed nothing. “Thank you Ronan. I’m all thumbs around horses.”
“I’m just glad I caught you when I did.” Ronan smiled as he turned his gaze toward Rika.
Rika stared ahead stone-faced before crossing her arms and plopping down. The campfire blazed a hundred degrees hotter as Rika stared daggers into the crackling pine logs.
A smile crept across Danielle’s face. “Uh oh. Looks like you’ve got some explaining to do.” She nodded in Rika’s direction.
Cold sweat beaded Ronan’s forehead, and his mind raced. He scratched his head. “Explain what?”
Danielle sighed. “You really can’t be that thick can you?”
“Danielle, I’ve no idea what you’re talking about. Did I do something wrong?”
“You caught me when I stumbled. She’s jealous. Go talk to her.” Danielle shoved Ronan toward Rika.
Ronan could summarize his amassed knowledge of female relations on the upper-half of a single piece of torn paper. He took two tentative steps toward Rika.
“Good luck.” Danielle said from behind him. She snickered and cleared her throat.
Ronan eased onto a flat tree stump across from Rika. He stared into her face, but she ignored him finding deep interest with something burning inside the fire. “Hi,” he said.
“Hello.” Icy disdain dripped from her tone. She didn’t bother to look at him.
If not for the fire’s heat, he’d swear on Elan’s Word the temperature dropped twenty degrees. “I’m not sure what you think you saw, but -”
She whirled on Ronan eyes blazing with fury. “I pour my heart out to you, and the second you see a pretty girl I’m yesterday’s news? Is that it?” She wagged her finger at him not waiting for a response. “If you think you can treat me with such blatant disregard, you don’t know me very well. I saw the way you l
ooked at her.”
Ronan stared at Rika jaw agape. “Rika, if you’ll give me a chance to explain, I -”
“What?” Her dark wavy hair cut a crisp shadow across her full pink lips, and she glared. “Explain what?”
Danielle came into the firelight and sat facing Rika. “He’s my twin brother Rika. I came to Meranthia to find him. When we went for the horses, I told him. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you back at the camp. I had no idea you and Ronan were a couple.”
Rika’s mouth hung open as she sat stunned unable to speak.
“It’s true Rika,” Ronan said.
A flush crept across Rika’s cheeks, neck, and ears. She let go a deep breath, and her shoulders eased. Rika glanced sideways at Ronan and smiled. “I guess I look pretty silly right now.”
Danielle’s eyes sparkled. “I don’t know. When you started wagging your finger at Ronan, I’ve got to admit, I found that pretty funny.”
Rika’s face split into a grin, and she chuckled. “Yeah. That felt good.”
Ronan looked between Rika and Danielle straight faced. “I didn’t think that part was funny at all.”
Danielle looked at Rika and burst into laughter.
Rika erupted with laughter and rolled backward falling off the log.
Danielle laughed harder, and she clutched her stomach as her body shook with soundless laughter.
Rika’s legs stuck straight up as her body disappeared behind the log.
A smile split Ronan’s face, and rich laughter rolled up from his belly. “Now that’s funny.” He pointed at Rika who writhed in laughter struggling to her hands and knees.
Ronan shook with laughter, and he slapped his knee. A twinge of pain rippled from the wound in his rib cage, and he flashed his hand to his side inhaling a quick sharp breath. “I forgot about this wound.”
Danielle stared at the dark red stain spread across Ronan’s armor. “It’s time we take a look at this. Rika, can you help me with his armor?”
“I can manage my -” Ronan said.
“Stop Ronan. I’ll do it.” Rika knelt before Ronan and unfastened the hooks holding his leather vest closed.
“Rika, you don’t need to do this,” he said. “I can manage.”
Danielle nudged Ronan with her foot.
He glanced at Danielle and furrowed his brow.
She shook her head and mouthed the words, “let her do it.”
He decided to take her advice. “Thanks Rika.”
Rika smiled with satisfaction and twisted free the last hook of Ronan’s leather vest. She slid around behind him.
“When did you turn into a guardian Rika?” Ronan said.
Rika eased the armor over his shoulder keeping it clear of Ronan’s wound. “Just this morning. Danielle had a shard hidden in her staff, and she insisted I use it.”
Pain flared in his side as the armor came free. He winced. “I’m glad you listened. You saved us today. Thank you.”
She nodded, and a slight smile tugged her lips. “You’re welcome. Besides, I’ve got to keep up with you somehow don’t I?”
He chuckled. “I think it’s the other way around.”
She eased the vest clear of his body leaving a grimy white cotton tunic covering his torso.
Danielle gasped. “Ronan, look at your shirt.”
A quick burst of adrenaline shot through Ronan. He’d used magic to keep him up and running, but, he never expected a wound this bad.
Blood soaked a large swath of the cotton shirt. Wet stains started under Ronan’s armpit and extended halfway around his body.
“Keely, bring me my belt pouch. It’s in Betty’s saddlebag. Hurry.” Danielle shouted across the clearing.
Rika pulled Ronan’s blade free from his belt and sliced open his bloody shirt. She ripped the tunic from his body revealing his tanned muscled torso.
Dozens of jagged wounds scattered the side of Ronan’s body where rock spray had cut through his armor. Two deep cuts near his hip extended for several inches. Blood glowing with yellow shard magic oozed from the sticky wounds.
“See. It’s not bad,” he said.
“Not bad?” Rika glared at him ashen faced. “Those cuts worry me Ronan.” She pointed to the wounds near his hip. “Those wounds look deep, and infection may have already spread. Your magic won’t help you against an infection.”
“Sir Alcott can fix it,” he said.
Keely appeared with the belt pouch and glanced at Ronan’s wound. “What’s the fuss? That’s not so bad.” She tossed the belt pouch to Danielle and sat by the crackling fire.
Ronan glanced at Rika raising an eyebrow.
She glared at Ronan as if daring him to speak.
Kelwin appeared a moment later carrying an envelope and sat next to Keely.
Danielle opened her pouch and pulled free a large yellow seed. “We don’t need Sir Alcott. Plants in the Heartwood are miracle workers. You just have to ask their help.” She nestled the seed under the pine needles blanketing the forest floor, and channeled nature magic.
From the ground a green plant emerged sprouting a rosette of large, thick, fleshy leaves. Small sharp spines covered each leaf warding off potential threats.
“Danielle, I’m not sure that plant can help with these cuts,” Ronan said.
“Rika, can I borrow that knife please?” Danielle said ignoring Ronan’s remarks.
Rika handed Danielle the knife and sat next to Ronan.
Danielle sliced through the plant’s meaty leaf and placed it in her palm. A thick clear gel oozed from the leaf. She channeled a tiny amount of nature magic into the leaf, and it came alive.
The gelatinous material glowed with translucent green light as it seeped from the severed leaf.
Ronan’s mouth hung open as he looked on awestruck. “What did you do?” Ronan said.
“Used alone, the plant’s gel produces an excellent healing agent. I sort of supercharged it.”
Ronan raised an eyebrow. “Well, that’s good news for me then isn’t it?”
Danielle smiled. She scooped the medicine from her palm, and knelt next to Ronan. She moved to place the medicine on his wounds and froze.
The hair on Ronan’s neck stood on end, and he held his breath. “What’s wrong Danielle?”
Danielle gazed past Ronan’s wounds staring at the ring dangling on his gold necklace. “Nothing’s wrong. I just noticed your ring.”
Ronan exhaled as relief flooded through him. “Oh that. You had me worried.”
Danielle blushed. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.” She eased her hand toward the worse of Ronan’s two cuts and dabbed medicine around the wound’s edges.
“It’s okay.” He held the ring staring at it while Danielle worked on his cut. “My mother gave me this ring on my eighth birthday. It’s been in our family for generations. Why did it surprise you?”
Danielle finished with the first cut and scooped more ointment from her palm. “My father gave me a ring nearly identical to yours. He told me you had one too, but it caught me off guard.”
“A ring for each twin,” he said. “Can I see yours?”
“It was stolen,” Danielle said.
Ronan sighed. “Pride?”
Danielle nodded. “I’m afraid so. He knew about it somehow.” She moved her hand to the red welt raised on her cheek. “He’s looking for your ring, but I told him I didn’t know where it was. I think he believed me.”
Rika shifted on the log next to Ronan. “My father told Pride about your ring Danielle.”
Ronan’s head jerked toward Rika. “Rika! You found your father. That’s wonderful!”
Rika’s expression soured. “He’s not well Ronan. Pride sent him to the southern camp,” her voice quivered. “I don’t know how he could survive.”
“Rika, why did your father tell Pride about my ring?” Danielle said
“Pride was torturing me, and my father told him about your ring to save my life. I’m sorry Danielle,” Rika said.
Danielle held
up a hand. “Please Rika. There’s no need to apologize. If you weren’t alive to use that shard this morning, those knights would’ve killed us.”
Ronan slid his arm around Rika and drew her close. “I can’t imagine a life without you. Nothing more needs said.”
Rika’s eyes glistened, and she nodded managing a weak smile. She rubbed away the teardrops and squeezed Ronan’s hand. “My father believes the rings can control Elan’s Heart.” Her eyes shifted to Danielle. “And Lora’s Heart.”
“That’s a legend Rika. Lora’s Heart was lost or destroyed,” Danielle said. “Crackpot treasure hunters have chased it for centuries. It’s a myth.”
Rika stiffened. “My father believes Lora’s Heart is real Danielle. He said Ayralen magic couldn’t exist without it.”
Danielle finished applying medicine to Ronan’s second cut. She scooped ointment from the leaf and smeared the spray of jagged wounds littering Ronan’s side. “What you’re saying makes sense. I’ve heard Ayralen scholars defend that same idea. But, in two-thousand years, they’ve found nothing in the Heartwood to suggest it’s real.”
“My father doesn’t think it’s in the Heartwood,” Rika said.
Danielle’s hand froze, and her eyes narrowed. “Where does he think he’ll find it?”
“The prime guardian sent my father to Meranthia five years ago. He believes Lora’s Heart is here.”
“I may have evidence to support his claim. I need to show you something.” Danielle finished treating Ronan’s wounds and wiped the remains on her dress. “Our team uncovered this inside Salem’s Peak.” She unstrapped the book from her belt pouch. “A company of shard knights captured us in an ancient ruin. They looted this book, but we managed to recover it from a thin weaselly man in the camp dining hall.”
“Lord Niles Randal. That’s his name,” Rika said. “He’s Pride’s lackey.”
Danielle handed the book to Ronan. “The book’s cursed. When I lifted the cover, a group of skeletons came alive and killed two of our crew members.”
Ronan’s eyes widened. “Skeletons? Are you sure?”
“I’ve never seen anything like it. They used a strange black magic I’ve never seen.” Danielle shivered. “Randal must’ve opened it dozens of times. He’s not dead…yet.”
Shard Knight (Echoes Across Time Book 1) Page 25
