“You shouldn’t have done that,” Tyson said to her in a hushed voice.
“It’s okay. It won’t make a bit of difference anymore, anyhow,” Renella said.
“Ourobus, maybe it’s time we took a walk.” Sheree tried once more to leash him. Ourobus turned and looked at the glass in Renella’s hand.
“Sneaky little Maga. So, you have power after all!” he shouted to the heavens. “It still does not matter. I am a king. I do not need my son to marry a princess any longer.” He swayed back and forth as he took unsteady steps towards Renella.
Tyson stepped between them. “I am going to marry her, Father, whether you like it or not.” Tyson held out his hand, and his father stopped.
“I will see her dead before I see you marry a luce maga princess.” He spat on the floor near his son’s feet.
Before Tyson was able to react, Ourobus sent him flying across the room, feet scraping the floor all the way to the far wall. Renella stepped forward and gave Ourobus an electric shock that sent his body into convulsions. Tyson regained himself and went to Renella’s side. He held her hand to calm her, but he only intensified the magia. Ourobus foamed at the mouth and his hair smoked under his gold crown. Tyson let go of her hand, and Renella, feeling the drain of energy, stopped her assault.
The king fell to the ground with a thud, and Sheree went to his side. She placed her hand over his mouth to feel for the wave of breath escaping his lungs. As he exhaled, so did Sheree and Tyson in unison.
“You’ll be lucky if his advisors don’t throw you in a cell for attacking their king,” Tyson told Renella.
“It’s okay,” Tabitha started. “Everyone left while you were on your way to being pinned to a wall. Nobody saw her attack him.”
“Renella, what were you thinking? You could have ruined everything!” Sheree wailed from her husband’s side.
“I was thinking, why should we curse him? I should just kill him now.” Renella raised a hand, which sparked blue and white, until Sheree grabbed her wrist.
“If you do, you kill us all,” she said sternly.
“What?” Renella regained her composure.
“He has bound himself to everyone in the realm, save for you. If he dies now, we all die with him. That’s why we need a stronger power to break the bond first, and then destroy him. I thought I told you that.”
Renella, now unsure of what she heard, tried to remember. “No, you said the power could break the bonds, but I thought you meant the bonds of the curse. You didn’t say you were all bound to him.” Renella threw her hands to her sides and paced the floor.
“Will one of you please tell me what you are talking about?” Tyson screamed.
As luck would have it, Ourobus woke the next morning not knowing anything that happened the night before. He had gone about his day in his usual manner, dismissing any conversation regarding the party. After his morning meal had concluded and a meeting with his advisors, Ourobus left the castle once again to besiege more followers who arrived from the old world. By then, all of those who survived the war in the land outside of the four realms had arrived on the shores of Ormshire.
The prior night’s revelations crashed like the weight of a thousand men on Tyson. Tabitha had not seemed surprised at all, nor did she seem bothered by the role she and their mother—along with the rest of the maga of the realm—would play in the plan.
Tyson tried to hear his mother out, but he would not accept that Renella would be taken from him. He could accept that he would be bound to Ormshire. His mother had made that part clear. He would be needed to give the men strength to fight the buio followers. He would be the only one within the realm of Ormshire that would have magia, that he would not lose, and even better, his father would have none.
“This is madness!” Tyson yelled. “Is there no other way?”
“No, I wish there was. Karen and I went over all of the details. Farlow has already brought the matter to Rowan. Rowan has accepted his terms. I spoke with Farlow before I left Hearthstone. He is in agreement. He and Renal overlooked the maga in Ormshire. He was to bring it to Rowan’s attention on my departure.” He listened to his mother’s explanation.
“Mother, you’ve no idea how long this will be. We could be bound to these lands for a century.” He remembered the conversation. “When you and the others are reborn, will you know who you are? Will Renella remember her life, or me, or loving me?”
Tears welled in his eyes as he recalled his argument—as he remembered his mother’s answer—that nothing was certain.
Renella had woken so early, the sun had not yet risen. She woke Tyson with her fists, beating against his chamber doors.
“I have to see them. Your father is gone and isn’t due to return until the wedding. That gives me plenty of time to visit my parents and speak with the fairies,” she pleaded with him, standing in his doorway as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He vaguely remembered nodding yes as he stepped behind the door and excused himself to dress.
He knew she was right. She had plenty of time to return to Hearthstone and see her parents before the curse was activated. She needed that much, and he would give it to her. He had decided, in the short time it took to ready himself, that he and Tabitha would accompany Renella to Hearthstone. He would hear of this plan from Farlow himself and plead with the king to allow Renella and Tabitha to stay there, safe from harm.
Convincing Sheree of their plans was another story, but she was resolved to know they would return. Rowan and Farlow might be better to explain the details to them, since the curse would be enacted by the new fairy queen. She noted her son had valid questions; would they all remember their lives from this land, or would they have to be reminded somehow? She made it known that she, too, worried of such things.
The ride to Hearthstone was almost unbearable. The girls refused the shelter of the carriage and proposed they all ride horseback. Tyson was agreeable only because it meant getting there and back quicker. If he had known the weather was going to change, and not for the better, he may have insisted on taking the carriage. The three-day journey had been cut by only one day because at several points, the rain had fallen so hard that the drops felt like razors grazing them in the face and hands, so they were forced to stop and seek shelter. The road filled with water and the ground grew soft. The horses complained as their feet sank into the earth beneath them, and the wind howled through the day and night.
“Well, this is fun!” Tabitha exclaimed once while hiding themselves from the pelts of rain. The sky was lit by bright steaks of white and blue, like none had ever seen, and the thunder clapped so loud, Tyson could barely hear his own thoughts.
When they finally stopped to rest for the night, they didn’t mind the coolness of the air. It had stopped raining and the fog blanketed the ground from the direction of the ocean. In the morning, Tyson noticed the ground beneath them had grown cold and hard, and the water from the rain had frozen. It was as if winter had come in the night.
By the time they reached the gates to Hearthstone Palace, they were soaked through and their fingers and toes had gone numb. Renella rubbed her hands together once she removed her gloves, trying to get the blood circulating once more.
“Here, let me.” Tyson held her hands in his and mumbled something under his breath. Renella felt warmth from the middle of her palms to the tips of her fingers, then throughout her body to her toes.
“Thank you. All these years learning to get by without it, and now I forget I don’t have to anymore,” Renella said as she held Tabitha’s hands.
“Thanks.” Tabitha continued to rub her hands, although Renella suspected it was nerves rather than cold. “So, this is Hearthstone Palace?” Tabitha asked, looking around.
Renella looked as well and noticed how different her home looked since she had left. She found she had to reacquaint herself with the surroundings she used to know so well. The light color of the stone made Hearthstone a bright and welcoming place. The windows were all lit and open
to the outside. People would normally be gathered inside the palace grounds. Her father had allowed them to trade and sell within, so the guards could keep a watchful eye, not that there was ever a problem.
However, the grounds were empty, save for a few children playing in the empty fountains. When the weather grew colder, the fountains were shut off to keep them protected from the elements.
“This is what it looks like in the winter. When the weather is warmer, the grounds are quite full,” Renella told them.
“Yeah, what is with this freaky weather, anyway?” Tabitha finally asked.
“The fairy queen is who keeps the weather, land, and the animals thriving. Without a fairy queen, the fairy magic is dying.” Farlow said, surprising them.
“Hello, Farlow. May I ask when will the new queen be crowned?” Renella asked him.
“We are waiting for the arrival of my sister, Calipee. She will be our new queen, and when she is crowned, the land will return to what it once was,” he answered diplomatically. He was tense at the sight of Tyson and Tabitha in Hearthstone.
“Princess, your parents will want to see you.” He looked back and forth between Tabitha and Tyson. “I suppose the king will want to speak with you as well,” he said as he turned on his heels and walked back inside the palace.
Each of the three handed their horse to the stable boys, following Farlow inside the palace and to the king’s study. Renella saw him first. He was sitting, one hand held a pen while the other balled into a fist as he slammed it repeatedly onto the top of the large desk. The candle did little to help with the lighting in the room, since most of it was window and exposed to the sky above. However bright it may have been outside, the sun had certainly been hidden behind walls of clouds. He looked up as Farlow cleared his throat quietly.
“Yes, Farlow, has your sister arrived?” the king asked.
“No, Your Majesty. Your daughter and her, um…friends have,” Farlow said in almost a whisper.
King Rowan looked around the fairy prince and saw Renella’s glowing red hair. He bound up from the desk before sliding his chair back and the entire desk almost tipped over.
“Hi, Father,” Renella got out before he engulfed her in his big arms to hug her.
King Rowan reminded Tyson of a large Viking. All he missed to complete his look was a horned helmet and a beard. He donned the same curls as Renella, though they were brown, and had a deep enough voice that made him sound as if he shouted all the time.
“What are you doing here?” He pushed her back to arm’s length, looked at her and pulled her back into a hug again. When he finally released her, she looked as if she hadn’t been able to breathe.
“I needed to talk to you. Well, we needed to talk to you.” She brought his attention behind Farlow, where Tyson and Tabitha stood.
“You’re all here?” He almost looked pleased, Tyson noted. “I should have known you wouldn’t let her travel alone.”
“You’re correct, Majesty,” Tyson said with a quick bow to the king. Tabitha, as usual, didn’t bother with the formalities, and Rowan didn’t take offense.
“Okay, no sense standing out in the hallway. Come with me. Conrad, call the lords to the table, please,” Rowan said to one of the guards standing outside his study.
“Yes, Majesty,” the guard responded before clicking his heels and disappearing down the hall.
“The lords? Are they all here?” Renella asked her father.
“Yes, since my return. We have been in meetings regarding our situation, but I must say this is not for you to contemplate.” Rowan held his daughter’s arm in his.
“Not for me to… are you kidding me?” She entered the throne room and noticed the table. The drapes had been closed and the torches’ flames in the rafters barely lit the room. She removed her arm from her father’s and stepped away from him. “I have too much at stake not to contemplate what happens. I’m told I have no escape from that place before this happens.”
“Who told you that? That is simply not true. Farlow…” The king looked over his shoulder at the prince of the fairies. “I told you that would not be happening.”
“I beg your pardon, Your Majesty, but that would not be for you to decide. The fairies will decide her fate,” Farlow insisted.
Renella saw the vein in her father’s temple bulge, and his hands formed giant fists. Quickly and effortlessly, she raised both of her hands. The drapes opened to let the sunlight shine in, and the flames atop the pillars throughout the room rose and licked at the banners hanging from the rafters.
“Renella!” Tyson scolded her like a small child.
“No, I will not have a war erupt over me now. The matter at hand is more important. I will not escape this. If I do, he will suspect. Therefore, I will hear this plan out. We all will.” Renella moved gracefully to the table and took her chair to the right of the king’s.
“She’s gonna make a hell of a queen someday,” Rowan said only loud enough that the two men standing next to him could hear.
Tyson agreed, but to the king, he stated, “Yes, and she won’t need a king in order to be great at it.” Then he took his position standing behind Renella.
Something emanated from Renella being in her own home, the place where she would rule one day. She was all authority. The scared young girl Tyson had grown to love had disappeared, and he loved her more for it.
It did not take long for the lords to arrive. As they did, they took their seats at the table. King Rowan let the lords know that the princess would care to hear of the plan and the parts she and her companions would be playing during the erection of the curse on Ormshire. Nothing they said was any different from what Sheree had told her, and it still sounded risky but thorough.
To keep Ourobus from wreaking further havoc over those in the land, he would need to be destroyed. However, until a great power was available, they had no way to remove the bond between himself and his people. They would need to wait for the power to flourish before they could be rid of him. In the meantime, he would be banished to his castle, and his people to his land. All Ourobus had labeled as Ormshire would be bound. The maga of Ormshire would be sacrificed until the power came to fruition. Each maga of luce would have a role to play. This meant they needed more players on their side for the plan to work.
Calipee would arrive at Hearthstone in five days’ time. The eve of Tyson and Renella’s wedding was in six days. The night would give the perfect setting for Calipee to draw on the heart stone, and the new moon. Also, since it was expected of him, Ourobus would be in attendance for his son’s upcoming nuptials. It was the perfect setting.
Chapter Twenty-two
Corinthia - Present
The wagon creaked and squeaked across the terrain of the flatlands. Chris felt they steered it purposely to hit every dip in the ground along the way, but she figured it was the blood loss, dehydration, and hunger pains making her think that.
It had been two days since they ate anything. Earlier that day, they found a trickling of water that still made its way from the falls around the base of the mountainside, where Hearthstone Palace sat. They each got their fill of water, but food was nowhere to be seen.
The farms and homes they passed along the way had been abandoned, and the weeds overran anything that may have once grown for consumption. They hadn’t seen another living person since they arrived, and figured they had all gone to the castle in Corinthia to seek food and shelter.
The realm was desolate. Farlow explained that it was like that throughout Pylira. Each house they saw in the distance was another hope of food or a warm bed to sleep, but it proved to have neither.
Chris spotted the wall that surrounded the castle of Corinthia. Its wide gate sat open to the outside world, and again, not a soul in sight. She wondered if the lords of the other three realms had abandoned their posts and left for Hearthstone, until she saw a small boy playing on the side of the road. Chris relaxed a moment, thankful to see some sign of life existing there.
“Cantothos will surely let the princess and her traveling companions eat and rest.” Farlow looked back at them.
Chris looked to Renee, who had taken to staying in the wagon the rest of the day, as the men walked alongside them. Ty didn’t seem to have any problems with exertion, and neither did the fairy prince. However, Chase and Nolan looked as though they were ready to climb into the wagon. They probably would have, had there been more room.
“I hope so,” Chase wheezed. “I got a pain in my side.
“Comfortable city life has made you soft, my friend.” Ty laughed at him. “Want me to carry one of the ladies so you can ride the rest of the way? Or should I carry you?”
“That won’t be necessary. Thanks for the offer,” Chase said with a roll of his eyes.
Ty poked at Chase the remainder of the walk to the castle gate, which was only about a hundred yards. Two guards dressed in armor, complete with the “C” crest of Corinthia, stood on either side. Renee hopped out of the wagon and approached the guards, Ty quickly following.
“We’d like access to the castle and to speak with Lord Cantothos,” Renee addressed the guards. “Please send word to your lord that Princess Renella wishes to speak with him.”
The two guards exchanged looks between them, then the one on the left called for the young boy who was playing on the side of the road.
“Leffe, come here.”
The young boy was given a message to return to the lord of the realm, and the guards ushered the group inside the castle walls.
Chris was surprised at what she saw. The interior courtyard was full of townspeople. Women sat outside of tented rooms, washing clothes in buckets or cooking on open fires. The elderly lay upon piles of hay, unshielded from the sun, and children ran around all over the place with no restraint. The ground was nothing more than a dirt floor, and everyone looked as though they had bathed in it. It was no wonder they looked that way, she thought as a gust of wind picked up the floor around them and distributed it haphazardly on the people.
The Curse of Ormshire (The Beast Within Book 2) Page 19
