by Nicole Hall
When he emerged from a copse of trees, sunlight filtered down through the canopy and he cursed. The sun kissed the western edge of the trees, so he’d lost at least half a day. Oren pulled out his phone and sent a quick text to Dru telling her he’d be longer than he’d originally thought. He knew the delay would increase her worry, but there was nothing he could do about it, short of giving up and heading home.
His steps faltered for a second. Home. When had he started thinking of Seth’s apartment as home? No. It wasn’t Seth’s apartment. The pull in his chest called him back to that location, but deep down, home was wherever Dru happened to be.
Oren shook his head. One of the questions he had for Keris involved the emotional component of the mate bond. As in, could the bond compel his feelings toward Dru? Or hers toward him?
He knew Aiden maintained a protective bubble around his cabin, and that the wards changed subtly when someone was inside. No matter. The restrictions didn’t affect Oren, and he knew exactly where to find the powerstone. Aiden’s cabin came into sight as he crossed the boundary, but the place looked dark. No smoke came from the chimney, and the telltale signs of active magic remained absent.
A few minutes of searching later, he found the doorway. Aiden had almost hidden the crumbling arch behind a wall of greenery. The portal shimmered to life when he set the stone into the appropriate slot, and when Oren stepped through it, he wasn’t surprised to find Keris waiting for him on the other side.
She stood with her chin high, a proud woman in a red dress draped like a toga, short in the front and long in the back. The same as ever. A sudden rush of anger swamped Oren. She encouraged the belief among her people that she knew all, but he was sick of her manipulations.
Before he could voice his accusations, Keris held up a hand. “Tell me why you used my son’s doorway first.”
Oren reined himself in and straightened from the aggressive stance he hadn’t realized he’d adopted. “The other doorway was closed.”
She nodded. “I was afraid of that.”
“If you didn’t close it, how did you know to meet me here?”
Her shoulders drooped. “I’d hoped to meet Aiden here to relay a message, but this will make it easier. You must stay in Terra until I send for you unless you have Tamra in your possession.”
Oren’s brows flew up. “Am I being exiled?”
Keris shook her head and curled her lip as she glanced back toward the village. “No, but it’s not safe for you here at the moment. The elders are—” She cut herself off abruptly as if listening for something, then turned to meet his eyes. “Your oath is less binding than my own.”
For the first time, Oren felt a twinge of fear for Keris. She’d always been the most powerful of the clan, and he’d never considered that she could be at odds with the elders. “Are you safe here?”
Her arrogance returned with a smile. “Of course. The doorways are being closed at the will of the elders. I was to inform our kin living in Terra. Tamra is the only other person capable of opening the doorways, so the elders are using them as an early warning system.”
Oren crossed his arms. “Is there any new information on her whereabouts? Or what she’s doing with the dryads in the first place?”
“I believe she’s looking for answers, and possibly a solution. She wants to shift like the rest of us. The real danger isn’t in her limited abilities, it’s in her return to the sacred tree. You knew your parents disappeared during an envoy to the dryads, but that was a return trip.” She looked toward the village again and seemed to make a decision. “I’ll share some of our secrets because I feel they may become useful to you, but you must promise to remain in Terra as asked. The elders’ magic has little sway there.”
Oren frowned and nodded. The mention of his parents in conjunction with the sacred tree only served to affirm his suspicions. The elders had lied to them about more than the disappearance.
“Many years before the envoy, Tamra’s mother, Beranthe, visited the dryads pleading for a few drops of the waters to help her magic find its mate. The queen of the dryads agreed, for a price, but Beranthe was greedy and took too much. The queen had to dilute the waters by spreading its magic to others in the clan. That’s why there were so many of you born around the same time. It was a boon for the clan, and the elders celebrated the new, stronger generation.”
She sent him a knowing look, and Oren understood. The elders constantly searched for more power. Up until recently, finding that power had been his main purpose in the clan. If the sacred waters made for stronger magic, the elders would want more of that.
Oren frowned. “Beranthe had two daughters. I was young, but I remember the celebration when she announced her second pregnancy. It’s why the clan always spoiled Tamra. Was it the waters that allowed Beranthe to have two children?”
“No. That had to do with her bargain with the dryad queen.”
“What price did she demand of Beranthe?”
“Her daughter.”
Cold, sharp anger sliced through him. Knowing what he did of Hollis and her obsession with gathering slaves, he had no doubt she’d wanted a child of the clan to add to her collection, but he had trouble believing someone of the clans would willingly give up one of their few children. “How could Beranthe agree to that?”
“The queen assured her that the sacred waters would provide her with two daughters, and Beranthe had always been pragmatic.”
Oren snorted in disgust and paced back and forth between the closest trees, a habit he seemed to have picked up from Dru. “Pragmatic, my ass. She was greedy and impatient.”
Keris inclined her head. “That too.”
“Does Tamra know that she’s indentured to the dryads?”
“The queen wasn’t specific about which daughter, and I believe the magic only required the delivery of a daughter. Not actual servitude.”
“And the envoy? Was it an attempt to renegotiate or a ploy to find a new power source?”
A humorless smile crossed her face. “Yes to both.”
“How do you know all of this?”
“Some I gleaned from Lexi, some from the elders’ off-handed remarks, some Beranthe told me herself.”
Keris’ direct answer surprised him, and worried him. She was never this forthcoming. Oren stopped pacing in front of her again. “All this so Beranthe didn’t have to wait to find her mate? How could the elders support this?”
She waited before answering, and the silence echoed as loud as her words. “They have their reasons.”
Ah, so she knew but wouldn’t—or couldn’t—tell him. A common theme. The more he discovered, the more uncomfortable he became with his oath to the elders. Perhaps he’d be following his brethren after all.
The part of him caught up in the bond with Dru rejoiced at the excuse to stay with her longer, but once he fulfilled his assignment, he’d be expected to return in full. Was that why Keris had couched her warning in a hypothetical? If he failed to secure Tamra, would the elders cut him free from his oath? Would it even be necessary if he simply never came back?
He’d have to consider the repercussions, and weigh Dru’s wishes on the matter. The mate bond connected them, but he wouldn’t try to force her into a relationship she didn’t want. He’d gotten a lot more information than he’d expected, but they hadn’t addressed the reason he’d returned.
Oren’s eyes narrowed on Keris. “You knew she was my mate.”
Keris lifted one imperious eyebrow. “I suspected she was your mate. You’ll remember that the mate bond is never guaranteed. It represents a magical compatibility, but free will is always a factor.”
Oren pushed his hand through his hair. “Yeah, except in this case, the magic seemed to have a will of its own.”
She took his hand in her much smaller ones. “Truthfully, I’d hoped you would find each other. There’s much to this situation that you don’t understand, and having her by your side—and you by hers—will influence the resulting battles you’
ll both face.”
He wouldn’t describe Keris as kind—arrogant, powerful, brilliant…yes—but she hadn’t shown much kindness in all the time he’d known her. If he wasn’t mistaken, kindness and affection guided her words now. That didn’t stop his frustration that she’d reverted to cryptic warnings and wouldn’t simply share her knowledge.
“What do you know about our battles?”
He hadn’t expected her to give him a useful answer, and she proved him correct. “I can’t say. Proscriptions from the elders and the inherent volatility of the future prevent me.” Keris stared down at their hands. “I can tell you not to give up hope. You’ve found your mate, you’ve secured the bond, don’t let anything snatch her away from you.”
She patted his hand and released him. By the time she looked up, the sadness had disappeared from her face. Oren suspected she’d been speaking from personal experience rather than a general sense of concern. When his parents had disappeared, her mate had gone with them. She’d hidden any signs of weakness deep inside where no one could see them, but he thought he finally understood her sharp edges a little better.
The mate bond made Dru his unless and until she decided otherwise. To keep, to protect…to love? He shook his head. Whatever the emotion, losing her would gut him. He’d do everything in his power to find her again. Oren took a long look at Keris, who’d run the clan for hundreds of years after her mate disappeared, unable to pursue him because of her ties to the elders. Ties that closely resembled the ones that bound Oren.
Keris excelled at manipulation, and in his quest to find the truth behind the envoy’s disappearance, he would be bringing her the exact information she needed to find her mate. The consensus among the clan was that the envoy had perished, a rumor circulated by the elders, but Oren had trouble believing Keris wouldn’t ride to the ends of all the realms to prove it false.
He would have.
A shimmer of magic caught his eye, stretching between the trees on the path between them and the village. The oily sheen rippled, and a faint touch of magic reached him. A ward. One that had just been tested. His gaze shot back to Keris, who winced and rubbed her temple.
She straightened almost immediately. “You need to go.”
“That’s why you told me so much more than normal. You’re shielding us from the elders.”
“Yes, so don’t waste my efforts. And guard the doorway against Aiden and Seth.”
Oren turned to the arch, then stopped, and spoke over his shoulder. “One more question. Can the mate bond create emotions?”
Keris chuckled, despite the obvious strain on her face. “The mate bond only creates a connection. Emotions, love, is an act of free will.”
He nodded and stepped to the portal. “Be safe, Keris.”
“And you, Oren.”
Aiden’s garden appeared around him, and he felt the magic of the doorway go dark. A glance over his shoulder confirmed that the portal had closed. His trip had been a success beyond what he’d imagined. Keris had provided more answers in the last hour than he’d heard her give during the majority of his life.
He removed the powerstone and replaced it in the hiding spot in case the doorway reopened. Though it would be amusing to see the reaction of the elders if Terran wildlife from Aiden’s garden wandered through to the clans.
The cabin remained dark, so Oren skirted around it heading toward the nexus. Keris had allayed his fears and encouraged him to follow the path he’d already started down.
All he had to do now was deliver her to her parasitic sacred tree while keeping her safe from her psychotic mother and convincing her to take a chance on him. He laughed ruefully. What would her rules prescribe for that situation?
The trod opened in front of him, and the sprites lit the twilight as he hurried back to his mate.
12
DRU
One lousy text message. That’s all Oren sent after saying he’d only be gone a day or two and then disappearing for almost a week. I’ll be gone longer than I thought. Stay vigilant. As far as love notes went, it sucked.
Dru carefully set her pastel pencil on the table and stretched her arms over her head. Was that what she wanted? A love note? No. They may be bound, but love implied a relationship that Hollis could use against her. Bri’s situation demonstrated beautifully what happened when she let herself care. Hollis took advantage and ruined everything.
She longed for a relationship with her sister, the one other person in all the realms who would understand what she’d been through. Despite never having met, Dru would do just about anything to protect the little sister she imagined in her head, and Hollis knew that. The bond with Oren already put a target on him, but if Dru let herself get lost pining for love notes, she’d be handing Hollis another weapon.
And yet, a tiny flare of disappointment told her she’d let herself fall too far. She groaned in frustration as her head thunked down on top of her sketches. The bond warmed her whenever she reached for her magic, not as often as she used to without a garden to take care of, and a sense of Oren’s well-being settled into her chest.
She didn’t ask for the knowledge; she just knew. The reassurance helped her stay focused on her work instead of worrying about his trip. Once or twice, the word mate floated to her along with a possessive streak. Those times, she had to do something active to work off the jitters.
Yoga wasn’t cutting it anymore, so she’d charged up Seth’s TV package with on-demand kickboxing. He wouldn’t care about the money, and the activity reminded her of her real mom, not the genetic donor with the control issues. Margaret had been a professional baker and amateur kick-boxer long before she’d adopted Dru, and she’d passed her passions down to her daughter.
Done with work for the day, she put away her supplies and pulled up one of the tougher routines in search of a distraction. The perfectly sculpted instructor performed the moves with ease, but Dru dripped sweat onto the expensive carpet ten minutes into the work-out. Under normal circumstances, she’d scoff at Oren’s request to stay in the apartment then do whatever she damn-well pleased, but every time she considered going out, she remembered his words when he’d dropped her off. I trust you. Trust me to come back.
Men were such a pain. Dru kicked and punched pretending that she aimed at Hollis’ head. As if thinking about her somehow invoked her, Dru felt the prickle that prefaced Hollis’ appearance.
She paused the video and took a moment to wash her face in the bathroom before opening herself to Hollis’ summons. The familiar face appeared in the large mirror, marred by a scowl.
“Why are you red? Has there been another attack?”
Dru’s heart pounded from exertion, and a minor bout of lightheadedness made her realize she hadn’t eaten nearly enough earlier in the day to offset a heavy cardio work-out. She didn’t bother explaining any of that to Hollis. The woman wouldn’t care.
“No more attacks. What do you want?”
Hollis’ eyes narrowed, and Dru reminded herself to guard her words better. “I can’t check in on my favorite daughter as her birthday approaches?”
“I appreciate your concern, but my birthday is still a few weeks away.”
The conciliatory tone visibly mollified her, and the scowl slowly faded. “Your betrothed had hoped to see you before the festivities. Would you continue to deny him a conversation with his new bride?”
“Yes, as I have no intention of becoming his new bride. When Ljos calls me, I will appear, but not a moment before.”
The scowl returned. “One day, you’ll thank me for choosing such a fine husband for you. After he’s tamed that wild streak of yours.”
Dru couldn’t stop the shudder at that thought, but she took pains to keep it invisible to Hollis. She didn’t want to show any signs of weakness. “Your definition of fine differs from mine. Any luck finding Brianne?”
Surprise flickered in Hollis’ eyes, but she quickly masked it. “I need no luck.”
Dru hadn’t directly challenged Hol
lis about Bri before, but their relative success at finding Bri’s adoptive parents gave her added courage. The lack of a threat to Bri made Dru pause. Did Hollis now think she only had to wait out Dru’s refusal to return home?
Or had she finally accepted that Bri wasn’t the way to make Dru behave? That thought sent a chill of fear through her. Hollis would never simply give up, so if she wasn’t planning to use Bri, Dru needed to know what her new strategy involved.
Unfortunately, she had no idea how to find that information.
They stared at each other through the glass, and Dru had the strangest feeling Hollis was waiting for something. Then the image in the mirror smiled.
“Perhaps I’ll send you an early birthday present. I know we disagree often, but I am still your mother.”
On the inside, Dru violently denied Hollis’ words. She’d never been anything more than a tyrant. Dru’s real mother sat alone in a nice house in Connecticut, convinced her daughter preferred the bustle of New York City life over a relationship. On the outside, Dru shrugged as if she didn’t care either way.
Hollis tapped her elongated nails on the surface in front of her. “Stubborn girl. Enjoy your time in Terra.”
She severed the connection more forcefully than usual, and Dru caught herself against the bathroom counter. What was that all about? Hollis didn’t bother contacting her unless she had a reason, but nothing in the conversation struck Dru as particularly important. True, her birthday was getting closer, but would the queen of the dryads really waste her time simply to taunt her daughter?
Dru shook her head and splashed more water on her face. These conversations always exhausted her. Keeping Hollis out of her mind and oblivious to her surroundings took a lot of mental effort. Add in the sadistic kickboxing instructor with no sweat glands, and Dru desperately wanted a long nap.
Her body cheered the idea, but her brain refused to let up. Hollis had never sent a birthday present before unless she counted the sudden appearance before Dru’s eighteenth birthday, and Dru did not count that. Also, any present would probably be horrible and terrifying. Her best hope was that Hollis wouldn’t be able to pinpoint her location beyond New York City.
