As more time passed, I realized the subtle differences in myself. My skin was more sensitive, my awareness was on hyperdrive, and I felt like I was on caffeine overload. Taking the steps two at a time, I raced downstairs as soon as I was ready.
Ryland was pacing the living room. He, too, was already changed and seemed out of sorts, but the moment our eyes met, my nerves calmed, and I could breathe normally again. I was going to kill Stryx if this continued to happen forever. Neither of us could live like this.
Then again, my parents had been Merakis and were apart on occasion and survived without showing signs of distress. Maybe it was just temporary for me and Ryland since everything was so new.
Before I could process much more, he was standing before me and pulling me into a tight hug. “This is going to take some getting used to.”
“You forgot to prepare yourself for how much you’d miss me,” I teased, using his earlier words against him.
“Apparently.”
Jordan shoved us apart. “I haven’t spoken to my best friend in days. Go. Away.”
Remembering back to when I was convinced that I had a bond with Jordan as well, I sympathized with her. “Do you think you and Dominic can go outside for a bit? You don’t have to go far,” I said to Ryland.
He moved in and kissed my cheek while squeezing my upper arm. “Sure. Come on, Dom.”
I watched the two of them go out the back door, still having a hard time wrapping my brain around the fact that there was a lion roaming my house as if he was a person.
“What. The. Hell?” Jordan jerked my attention back to her. “You ditch me, get married, and then sleep for three days straight. I should divorce you for that, Chuck.”
My chest already ached at having Ryland be further away, but my heart broke even more for my best friend. “Come here, Satan.” My arms opened for her, but she didn’t budge, so I threw myself at her. “I’m sorry. Please, forgive me.”
I didn’t even try to pass the blame on Stryx or Lorelle. I wished she had been there, and I should have fought to make that happen. Then again, things didn’t go exactly as planned, so I’m glad she didn’t have to stress about it during the process.
“You owe me. Big time,” she grumbled.
“I know. How about the next shopping trip is on me? I will buy you all the shiny things.”
She smirked. “Even better, you can let me pick out all the shiny things for both of us and you’ll still pay.”
I cringed but agreed anyway, because I really did owe her.
“So, officially bonded, huh? How’s that feel?” she asked.
“Well, I passed out pretty much right after it was completed. Did Stryx tell you what happened during the process?”
She pulled me to the couch, and we both sat down. “He did. I can’t believe that psycho has that kind of reach. What did it feel like?”
Remembering the void was harder than I realized, but not impossible. “Every emotion in my mind was heightened. I was confused and hurt and angry, and so pissed off that I ended up blowing the realm he created to bits by the end of it.”
“That’s my girl. Show that asshat who he’s messing with.”
“What about you and Dom?” I asked, knowing she’d gone through some pretty significant changes as well.
“It’s been amazing. Not like having a Meraki, I’m sure, but still something I’m honored to be able to experience. It’s like what I feel with you, but deeper, you know?”
I nodded, because I really did understand.
“We postponed training with them until the two of you were ready. Do you think you’ll be up for it tomorrow?” Jordan asked, seeming excited about getting started.
“What kind of training?”
“There were over fifty guardians matched with animals. They’ll all be going to the Otherworld with us. Stryx wants everyone to practice communicating and fighting alongside their bonded ones, with you and him setting the example.”
Well, at least we were going to have a lot of help when we went searching for Alaryk. Hopefully it would be enough.
“I’m actually feeling pretty good as long as I’m near Ryland. The bond feels like a rubber band, though. We’re stretching it and testing it. The farther he tries to move away, even right now, the more constricted my chest gets. Might be good for us to work with Stryx on ways to sort that issue out.”
She waggled her brows at me. “Don’t lie and tell me you don’t want to spend every waking moment with him. It’s okay and perfectly normal.”
I sighed. I was still struggling with the independent human side of myself. I might have died and come back fae, but some habits were harder to break than others.
“Come on, Chuck. Let’s go get our boys and have some fun.” Jordan grabbed my hand, and we headed out the door.
A tension I didn’t know I was holding on to released from me as soon as Ryland was in my sights. His icy-blue eyes softened as they met mine, and I instantly wanted to run to him, but the more stubborn part of me refrained. Instead, I watched Jordan run for Dom and jump onto his back, then they both disappeared.
“Everything okay?” Ryland asked as he reached for me.
Slowly, I took his hand and nodded. “Yep. She’s better now, but I wouldn’t put it past her to retaliate later, so watch your back.”
“Oh, I have no doubts. Some of the things she used to do to Oliver and me would make lesser men cry.”
“I wish I had grown up here with you guys to experience it firsthand, but Earth wasn’t so bad, either.” I had a lot of good memories there. Pretty much the only ones I had with my parents, so I’d never truly regret my time there now that I wasn’t able to make new ones with them in Arvayta.
“Come on. Let’s go see what Stryx has planned.” Ryland tugged on me and then ported us onto the training fields.
Jordan and Oliver were fighting each other with their animals, but before I could watch for too long, Stryx approached us, landing on my shoulder. “Good to see the two of you out of the house.”
I nudged him with my head. “Yeah, you could have warned us that we’d be out of commission for a few days.”
“And take all of the fun out of it for me? No, thank you.” It wasn’t often that Stryx joked around. He was more often an obnoxious know-it-all who was well aware of how special he was. So, it was nice to see him in a good mood and so light-hearted.
“Do you need help with getting ready for tomorrow?” Ryland asked.
“No, I’ve got it handled, but just know the two of you will be students with the others.”
I nodded. “Jordan mentioned you and I would be setting the example, but what about Ryland? Will he be working with us?”
“The bond between guardian and animal works very much the same as a Meraki one. So, we will incorporate both our bond and your Meraki one into the training whenever possible. The most important piece will be the two of you maintaining a presence in front of the others. Training with them will put a sense of faith in you that they need to be certain what they’re about to do is worth risking their lives.”
So, we had to show everyone else that I knew what I was doing and our bond was strong and we weren’t leading them all to their deaths. Great. No pressure or anything.
Chapter Ten
Stryx had freaked me out for no reason. Oddly enough, working with the animals hadn’t been any different than our previous training sessions. Most everyone worked in pairs for the first few days, then we were sectioned off into groups.
I’d learned how to “listen” for Stryx, so that I didn’t completely block him out when my wall was up, and he’d even allowed me inside his on a few occasions. I was disappointed to learn his thoughts were just as organized as he was on the outside. A hot mess had been what I was hoping for to make myself feel better.
Stryx had also taught Ryland and I how to sense each other. Our bond allowed us to feel emotions and know when the other was near or too far away to connect with. It was an interesting concept I still
hadn’t quite wrapped my head around but hoped it would come in handy at a later time. The connection seemed like it would only be pertinent if we were in danger.
Everyone trained together for just over a week, but then our time was up. Queen Navi was getting anxious and had sent word to us that we either came immediately or she was going to look at other options for keeping her people safe, options that wouldn’t bode well for any of us.
Ryland watched me with abandon as I finished braiding my hair and put my crown back in place. Disappointment filled me that it didn’t make my hair glow purple anymore now that my power was stable.
Ever since I had officially bonded with Ryland, the crown hadn’t been necessary to wear all of the time like Lorelle had thought, but I’d grown surprisingly attached to the security it gave me. Knowing I had a failsafe if my power got out of hand, and Ryland wasn’t around, helped to ease my worries.
“How are you feeling?” he asked.
“Ready. Though, everything feels like it’s moving so fast, yet not fast enough. How much damage has Alaryk caused since we bonded? Not hearing from him makes me nervous,” I replied.
Ryland and I had taken time for a few more dates that included many more kisses, a lot of conversations getting to know more little details about each other, and a lot of moments that helped confirm I hadn’t been a fool to bond with him.
He knew my every want before I did. He anticipated things as if he’d known me my whole life. Where I moved, he moved as well. It was overwhelming at times, but similar to how I had finally found my crown reassuring, I was beginning to cherish everything about Ryland.
There was still a part of me that refused to allow him to sleep in my bed or think of us as bonded for life, but that cautiousness was getting smaller by the day.
When I was done getting ready, I glanced at the picture of my parents on my dresser. I kissed my fingertips and placed it on the glass. “I’m counting on you to have my back,” I whispered.
Grief still came in waves, and I expected it to for many years to come, but I’d kept busy enough to keep the worst of it at bay. When I couldn’t, Ryland was right there with me, supporting me as I processed things how I saw fit. Sometimes it was tears, other times I broke more glass, and in only one other instance had I called the lightning to me.
Creating a storm was the most freeing feeling I’d ever experienced. There was something so raw about it that called to me, and I wanted badly to figure out a way to do it without putting anyone else at risk, but that was a problem we’d solve once Alaryk was dead.
In the meantime, we had a dagger to build and needed to be on our way.
When turning away from my dresser, I collided with Ryland’s chest, and his hands reached out to steady me. “Is there anything I can do?”
“You’re already doing it just by being here,” I answered honestly and pushed up to kiss him.
It was something I had been doing often over the last couple of days and without hesitation, and the closer we got, the easier things came to me. The path before me was clear. I knew what needed to be done, and I wouldn’t waste time fighting feelings in case not everything went according to plan.
“Come on.” I grabbed his hand, and we headed downstairs.
I’d never gone back to sleeping in the guest house. I let Jordan and Dom have that space while sticking closer to the things that kept my parents’ memory near and allowed more room for Ryland to be around, but also have his own space.
I took one more look at the house I’d only known for the last month or so and hoped like hell it wasn’t the last time I’d see it. Ryland seemed to sense my nostalgia and tugged me along to the porch before I could get my head too far out of sorts.
“About damn time,” Jordan whined from the grass with Dom at her side.
“Oh, shut it. I’ve waited hours for you on many occasions. You’ve maybe been out here two minutes?” I replied teasingly.
Dom grunted. “More like one minute, but it felt like an hour with her droning.”
She glared at him, and I grinned. It made my heart happy to see Jordan have that special bond with someone. Even if it wasn’t the one that she most craved, it was still something to be valued.
Oliver and Cynder arrived next. The black panther wasn’t nearly as vocal as Dom, but she seemed to care fiercely for Oliver based on their interactions in our trainings, and that was what mattered most. She hadn’t been sent here to be our friend, but hopefully she’d open up more as time went on.
“Alright. Let’s go.” Ryland ported and I followed, knowing the others would be right behind us.
Stryx told us to meet him late that morning at the portal to the Otherworld. Our group was arriving last since he insisted on getting the other guardians sorted and assigned to their locations without us. I’d checked in with him several times through our bond already, and he promised everything had been going according to plan.
So, when we arrived and he wasn’t there, I wasn’t happy.
Where are you?
“I’m right here, and you’re early, so I don’t want to hear it,” Stryx said, appearing on the boulder next to the entrance.
He was lucky. I wouldn’t have hesitated to go through the portal without him if I thought something was wrong.
Once everyone was accounted for, I focused on the area around us. The last time I’d been there, I remember there was a tranquility about it, but the ethereal glow I had recalled was no longer there.
“What’s wrong with this place?” I asked.
“Ever since Alaryk was here, it’s been changing. It was part of the reason Lorelle didn’t want you to be in town. He left behind a darkness that has been affecting the falls,” Stryx answered.
“I think telling us about this sooner would have been appreciated,” Jordan snapped, and I was relieved I hadn’t been the only one in the dark about the changes.
“It’s only gotten bad the last day or so, and there wasn’t anything you could do, but now there is.”
We all seemed to agree he was right. Knowing would have only caused more stress on the rest of us, more need to rush and possibly make rash decisions.
“Everyone ready?” Stryx asked when nobody objected to his reasonings, then he wasted no time flying back toward the waterfall opening. “Let’s go then.”
Taking a deep breath, I shook out my arms and peeked back at Arvayta one last time. There was no coming back until either the dark fae was dead or I was. Either way, I wouldn’t be the same me when the fight was over.
Jordan looped an arm through mine and pulled me toward the entrance. “We’ll jump together.”
“Better than you pushing me.” I shrugged.
We stepped through at the same time, and the feeling of air being pulled from my lungs hit me hard. Harder than any time before. Realization came too late that I shouldn’t have left without Ryland, considering our bond was so new, but as the pain peaked, I sensed Ryland getting closer.
When we landed, my feet hit hard ground, and I was instantly on alert and forgetting about the hurt in my chest. The land hadn’t been solid before. It was supposed to be buoyant and full of life.
Moving out of the way for the others to come through, I took in our surroundings. Gone was the peaceful place I’d first visited, and in its place was a barren land with everything around it dying.
I dropped to my knees, calling for water, trying to feed nourishment into the dirt, but there was nothing left.
Oliver gasped in pain when he arrived with Ryland, and my heart hurt for the earth guardian. Oliver’s connection to the lands was much stronger than mine, and I couldn’t imagine how this was affecting him, but Cynder seemed to as she wrapped herself around his legs.
“How?” he asked.
“Alaryk,” was all Stryx needed to say.
“We need to hurry.” Oliver and Cynder began moving, and the rest of us trailed after with Ryland and me in the middle, Stryx flying above, and Jordan and Dom watching the back.
As we moved along, I searched the skies and noticed even the four sections above us were dulling. No longer could I see the aqua of the water lands, the crimson sky, or the stormy one. The only one remaining strong was the pale green above the lands Queen Navi ruled over and where we were headed.
The titanium gates still stood, blocking the market from outside view, and I watched as Oliver once again took charge of letting us in. Each of us moved through with a sense of urgency, knowing there was no more time to waste.
The booths were open, but there were very few around buying anything. I assumed most of the smart people were at home, hunkering down and trying to stay out of the fight they had nothing to do with.
When we arrived at the pearlescent castle, it didn’t have the same golden hue I had noticed before, and I suddenly wondered if we were too late.
“The queen is expecting all of us,” Stryx said, not at all seeming worried, so I dismissed my negative thoughts.
Jordan leaned in closer. “I’ve only met her once that I can remember. She’s either very intense or seems to have no idea what she’s doing. I’m not sure which is better, so just be careful.”
Super. A sorceress who couldn’t control her emotions. Just what we needed.
“Or maybe she just likes to keep people on their toes,” Stryx added, his advanced hearing coming in handy.
Jordan rolled her eyes as she stepped onto the palace stairs. Once again, we went through the shield that felt like it was trying to peel my skin off and entered into the main atrium of the castle. This time, there was no escort for us as we followed Stryx up the stairs.
He moved too fast for me to really look around, but it seemed the same as any castle I’d seen in the movies. Old pictures, armor, doors—lots of them—and confusing hallways for intruders to get lost in.
We finally arrived at a set of wooden doors carved with filigree and flowers beneath two large bronze knockers. Ryland did the honors, using one of them at Stryx’s request, and then we waited.
“Where are the door handles?” I asked.
“There are none. It only opens with the queen’s magic,” Oliver replied beside me.
Of Blood and Sacrifice (Royal Fae Guardians Book 2) Page 7
