by Raine Thomas
Okay, she thought. Steps to saving myself in order of importance: walk away from this cave, bathe and clean my clothes, find food, figure out where the hell I am. Check.
Drawing on her stores of resolve, she pushed away from the cave entrance and took step one.
Chapter 10
“Tate!”
Tiege surged up in his bed, blinking to clear his vision as his heart thundered in his chest. He’d somehow connected with his sister—he knew it. But that connection closed for some reason. He had to figure out how to reestablish it.
Knowing he'd need his parents' help, he scrambled out of bed. He hurried out the door and ran up the stairs to their bedroom, taking the stairs two at a time. As he entered the hall at the top of the stairs, he saw his father stepping out of his room and easing the door closed. He looked exhausted. Tiege understood that his mother must be sleeping, and struggled not to shout his announcement.
Instead, he said in a loud whisper, “Dad—Tate’s alive!”
His father moved away from the door, a mix of emotions flashing in his dark blue eyes as he approached. “Tiege…what’s going on?”
“I saw her!” Tiege said urgently, reaching up to grasp his father’s arms when he stopped in front of him. “She called out to me. She needs my help!”
Wearing an expression of deep concern, his father asked, “You saw Tate? In your mind?”
“Yes—just now. A few minutes ago.”
“Okay. And where was she?”
That gave Tiege pause, though the sense of urgency didn’t ease. “I—I don’t know. It was dark. She was in a dark place. She’s in pain.”
His father sighed, the weariness seeming to come from his bones. “Tiege, the elders thought this might happen. You’re finally reacting to the trauma of losing your sister.”
Tiege shook his head, tightening his grip. “No, Dad—you have to believe me. It was—”
“I know it felt real,” his father interrupted, “but what you had was just a nightmare. You dreamed of your sister in pain and in a dark place. In short, you dreamed of her death.”
“No. I have to tell Mom. She’ll believe me.”
Now, his father’s face hardened. “You will not discuss this with your mother. As it is, she just suffered a significant emotional setback. She cried herself to sleep. Believe me when I say that you raving about a vision of your sister in pain and in the dark and in need of help will be more than she can handle.”
Tiege considered that. “Well, then, I’ll go to Uncle Gabriel and Uncle James. We can—”
“You will not mention this to them and put them in the position of denying you like I am. I’m not letting you leave the area of protection, Tiege. By all that’s holy, how could you think to ask that of us when we just lost your sister for that very reason?”
Tiege dropped his hold, taking a step back. His father didn’t believe him.
“Please, Tiege.” His father’s tone conveyed his conflict, as did the look in his eyes. “I’m so glad that you’ve come back to us. For a while there—” He stopped, then cleared his throat. “I love you. I’m sorry that you’re in such pain. If there’s anything—”
“You can help me find Tate,” Tiege insisted. “Fine, I won’t tell Mom or anyone else. But if you really want to help me, you’ll get me to Tate.”
His father’s jaw clenched. “You’re putting me in a terrible position here, Tiege. You’re asking me to believe what you saw. But your cousin witnessed Tate’s death. It occurred just as your mother and I foresaw it.”
The words pulled the breath from Tiege’s lungs. They had known?
“I know what you’re thinking. But there are many things we foresee that never come to pass. We don’t share the visions for that very reason.”
One part of Tiege’s mind understood that. The other part was with his twin in a dark place, terrified and suffering.
He found himself nodding even as his mind whirled. Because he feared the words that left his mouth would do more damage than good, he swallowed them. Out of the corner of his eye, he registered that it was still dark. That would only aid his budding plans.
“Okay, Dad,” he said at last, hoping his tone was as calm as he intended. “I understand.”
His father held his gaze for a long, considering moment.
“I’m sorry it’s been so hard for you and Mom,” he added, hoping to use the right words to deflect from his still racing pulse and intense desire to leave. “I’ll talk to her when she wakes up. I won’t mention the, um, dream.”
That did the trick. His father looked relieved. Tiege ignored the twinge of guilt that look caused. Tate’s desperate thoughts still echoed in his mind.
“Don’t apologize, son. We know how difficult this is for you. We’ll get through it together.”
No, Dad, Tiege thought with a heavy heart. We won’t.
Sophia had to sneak out of the house to go to Quincy’s cottage. With all of the visitors in the area still lingering after Tate’s funeral, this was no easy feat. In the end, she climbed out a window, grateful for the cover of night.
Pulling her cloak more tightly around her, she rushed through the forest toward the cottage, praying that she wasn’t too late.
Not too long after she’d had her breakdown in the lab, she had witnessed Quincy speaking with archigos Ini-herit. The topic of their conversation centered on Quincy’s leaving the homeland and handing the care of the expectant mothers over to commander Raphael. The two males noticed her before they got into too much detail, but Sophia knew that she had managed to prompt Quincy’s decision with her harsh and uncalled-for words.
She wasn’t sure why she was so desperate to speak with him before he finalized his decision to leave. He had already disliked her before. She had merely given him one more reason to have his low opinion of her.
But he always provided the care for her mother and her aunts during their pregnancies, and now he intended to leave before the next children arrived. And the fault for that lay squarely on her shoulders.
Pausing for a moment to catch her breath as she neared her destination, she watched as the cottage door opened and Quincy emerged. He was empty-handed, but then, he had a paired Lekwuesti and could afford to travel light. She figured he hadn’t just stepped out for a casual stroll as he started in the direction of the cliffs. She knew he was going to head for the water and the enchanted platforms located there that would transport him to Central.
Once again picking up her pace, she hurried after him. She didn’t want to call out to him in case her voice carried far enough for someone else to hear her and alert her parents.
Just as he was about to step completely out of the cover of the trees edging the property line leading to the cliffs, she let out a shrill whistle. It was a sound he had taught her as a child, and it caught his attention. He turned with a look of surprise as she approached.
“Sophia, what are you doing here?” he asked as she stopped about a foot from him.
“Please don’t leave,” she blurted.
His mouth opened, but nothing came out.
Trying to clarify herself, she said, “I’m sorry, Quincy. I said those awful things to you because, well, it was easier for me to blame you than to point the finger of blame where it truly belongs. At myself.”
He frowned. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
“It’s true,” she said, and found that saying the words helped loosen the debilitating band of dark guilt that had shadowed her since Tate’s death. Taking a deep breath, she said, “I was a coward. I didn’t have enough faith to fly. And if it weren’t for those two things, I could have flown after Tate the moment I saw the kragen.” She fought back unwanted tears. That emotion would have to wait. She had to say this to someone. It might as well be to the male she had wounded. “I could have saved her.”
He shook his head, but she had already convinced herself. She didn’t need to convince him, too. She just needed him to know why she had been so terrible to him.
/> “And if I hadn’t shoved you off that cliff because I was so frustrated over my lack of ability, you might have had more time to fly after her, too,” she continued, reaching up to rub her aching throat in another effort to stave off her emotion. “So, anyway, I’m very sorry for being so unfair to you. Please don’t leave. My mom and my aunts need you here.”
He started to respond, but her attention was suddenly turned. A sound near the cliffs had her stepping up next to Quincy and peering through the trees. She spotted Ini-herit standing with Clara Kate near the cliff’s edge. The elder caught C.K. and lifted her back to her feet after a near-fall. Her cousin had always been an extraordinary klutz.
“Sophia—”
“Shh,” she said, waving a hand at Quincy as she watched C.K. interact with the elder.
She didn’t know what had taken place between the two of them while on the human plane, but she privately hoped that her cousin managed to teach Ini-herit a thing or two about emotions since he had gone through so much effort to try and relearn them. Hearing that the transition hadn’t worked made her heart ache for both of them.
Then her cousin’s gaze moved to something along the cliffs. Sophia’s interest piqued when she saw C.K. place a hand over Ini-herit’s lips in an obvious bid to gain his silence about something. After a moment, the elder nodded. The two of them turned and headed to the edge of the cliff.
“Oh, crap,” she said. “They’re going to fly.” She turned to Quincy, who stared at her with an odd expression on his face. She didn’t have time to reason out what it was. “C.K. and archigos Ini-herit are up to something. I think they spotted something on the cliffs. Will you fly me over there so we can see what’s going on?”
“Are you out of your mind?” he asked. “Whatever it is archigos Ini-herit is up to, he didn’t invite us along.”
She rolled her eyes. “Fine. Well, I hope you decide to stay. And I’m sorry. Again.”
Then she turned and hurried out of the woods toward the cliff. She still couldn’t extend her wings, and she didn’t want to transform into a bird or other animal and end up without clothing. But she could most definitely climb.
Even as she reached the cliff’s edge, Quincy took hold of her arm. She opened her mouth to protest, but he picked her up and gave her a quelling look.
“For the record, you are out of your mind,” he said. And leapt off the cliff.
Chapter 11
With at least an hour still to go before sunrise, Zachariah stopped traveling and set up camp. He told himself it was because he’d found the perfect uninhabited spot to sleep once the sun rose, but the fact was he was just tired.
The last time he felt this way was just after he’d been scored by Nyx’s tail spike while he battled the effects of her toxin. The feeling perplexed him.
As he settled on the hard ground, he thought again of the bloated, discolored being Nyx had dragged—probably mostly on the ground, since she only flew if absolutely necessary—back from her hunt as a gift to him. He reflected on his efforts to reverse the effects of the toxin. An annoying, throbbing pain still resonated in his hand, though the skin had largely healed.
As he removed the bandage from his wound, he guessed what happened. He must have gotten some toxin in his open wound from the Estilorian’s mouth. Thus, he was feeling some effects from it. Yes, that had to be it.
“Blasted beast,” he grumbled. But when she turned in a series of circles and then settled beside him, nudging his hand onto her side as her tail curled around him, he gave her a rub. “Damned if I know why I put up with you.”
Sadly, he figured she probably thought the same thing about him.
As he leaned against her soft underbelly, he once again thought about the group he reluctantly tracked. They weren’t exactly trying to hide their trail. He had to wonder why, when the Waresti were surely on the lookout for Luvania’s attacker. Archigos Uriel would have all available members of his class on the mainland conducting searches, knowing that other Estilorians could also be at risk.
Of course, Luvania might not have lived long enough to give anyone a description of her attackers. In which case, the Waresti wouldn’t necessarily think to address this particular group of Mercesti males. As long as the males kept their activities quiet and weren’t targeting Corgloresti forms or similar activities, the Waresti would have little reason to pursue them.
Zachariah shook his head. It was really none of his business, he thought. He had no obligation to find those males.
As soon as he purged the last of Nyx’s toxin from his system and regained his energy, he would change his course and be on his way.
Climbing was remarkably challenging in the dark.
Tiege came to this cheery conclusion about halfway down the cliff face. It had been years since Tate last dragged him down this cliff with her to explore the caves. The path they had used hadn’t changed much since then, he was pleased to note. But a fully grown male didn’t have quite as many sturdy handholds as a younger one.
At the moment, he sat on a small ledge considering the best way to get down the rest of the way. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw flashes of silver and blue-green.
Damn. He’d been spotted. He should have used his second power, but he hadn’t wanted to expend the energy any more than he already had.
Trying to hurry to get away would have been foolish. Wings were much faster and he’d probably just end up slipping and falling onto the jagged rocks. So he watched as C.K. and Ini-herit approached, followed very closely by Quincy carrying Sophia.
“What are you doing out here, Tiege?” C.K. asked. She hovered a few feet away with a concerned expression on her face. When Quincy flew up beside her, she glanced over with surprise. “Hi, Quincy. Soph.”
All eyes turned to Tiege. He shrugged. “Just out for a climb.”
C.K. snorted. “Tate was always a better liar than you,” she said. “That’s why you always let her do the talking when you two got into trouble.”
There was a heavy pause as everyone focused on her words. Intentionally keeping his tone casual, he said, “Tate doesn’t let anyone else do the talking if she has a say in it.”
“You speak of your sister as though she is still alive,” Ini-herit said.
Tiege blinked over the other male’s perception. He couldn’t tell them where he was going. As an elder, Ini-herit shared thoughts with Uncle Gabriel, who shared thoughts with his father. This venture would be over before it began, and he had to get to Tate.
“What’s going on, Tiege?” Sophia asked then. “You’ve got a waterskin and a bag that appears to have some food and clothing. You’re wearing your kamas. Something’s up.”
He looked again at Ini-herit. C.K. caught the glance. “Don’t worry about him,” she said, giving Ini-herit a firm look. “He’ll keep his thoughts to himself.”
Somehow, Tiege wasn’t convinced. But the longer he sat there chatting with them, the longer it would take him to get to Tate. “Okay,” he said, looking between C.K. and Sophia. “Tate’s alive and I’m going to get her.”
As he had expected, his cousins exchanged concerned and dubious glances. Quincy looked equally troubled. Ini-herit, however, was the elder of a class based on faith.
“How do you know this?” he asked.
“I experienced some kind of connection with her earlier. She’s in pain and in a dark place. She called out to me for help.”
“Then you should be acquiring assistance from your parents and not out here alone.”
Frowning, Tiege replied, “My dad doesn’t believe me. He forbade me from discussing it with my mom or my uncles. He thinks I had a nightmare resulting from the trauma of Tate’s death.”
Again, his cousins and Quincy exchanged looks. But Ini-herit just studied him with his placid gaze and said, “That would certainly be the human explanation for such an experience.”
Tiege couldn’t deny the deflating effect of the words.
“However,” Ini-herit continued, “I th
ink they are incorrect.”
Amazed, Tiege found himself unbelievably grateful to this male he barely knew. He caught C.K.’s thoughtful gaze as she looked between him and Ini-herit. She nodded.
“Okay,” she said. “You think Tate’s still alive and Ini-herit has faith in you. That’s enough for me.”
“You’ll help me get to her?” Tiege asked.
“We can go to our parents,” she said, but stopped when Tiege shook his head.
“No, you can’t. They’ll communicate with my dad, and besides, they’ll all feel the same way he does. They won’t believe me.”
“You can’t know that,” Quincy said. “We should try.”
“Did you believe me?”
Quincy didn’t reply. It was enough of an answer to Tiege’s thinking.
“Look, you’re all keeping me from my sister. So either get on board and help me out, or let me keep climbing, okay?” When they all exchanged looks, he continued in a quieter voice, “You didn’t feel her pain. She’s frightened and alone. I can somehow feel her pulling me to her. I have to get to her.”
“Quincy and I are coming with you,” Sophia declared. When Quincy’s eyebrows shot up and he started to reply, she looked at him and said, “I can’t fly yet unless I shift. I need you to carry me. And you and I harbor the same guilt over what happened on that cliff. Doing this will help us both as much as Tiege.”
His mouth closed without issuing a word. He held her gaze and nodded.
Tiege turned to look at C.K. She raised one corner of her mouth. “You can’t fly. You’ll need someone to carry you.”
“You are not strong enough to carry him while flying,” Ini-herit pointed out. “Not very far, anyway.”
“You’re right,” she said. “That’s why you’ll be coming with us.”
“I think not.”
“Come here,” she said, grabbing his arm and prompting him to fly with her a brief distance away.
Tiege watched, fascinated, as she talked with the elder. She spoke in a low voice as the wind blew her wavy, shoulder-length hair around her head. The effect added to the obvious emotion behind her words as she gestured and stared Ini-herit down. Whatever she said had him inching away from her as though to escape. She followed him.
