Chapter 12
I can’t be poisoned. No way.
Once again, Fen paced. Along the wall of windows and then around, circling the large sofa where the others sat. Even Vek was surprisingly quiet. But then, he’d been hiding a big fucking bombshell, hadn’t he? It would explain why Fen’s uncle hadn’t wanted him to consume much blood or leave the house. If it was true, taking in more energy would increase the size of the sickness affecting him.
If.
“I feel fine,” Fen said for probably the twentieth time. “Those waves of energy make me lightheaded sometimes, but that doesn’t mean anything.”
“Nephew…”
Fen rounded on Vek. “Oh, don’t give me that regretful tone. If you thought I was ill, why wouldn’t you want me to solve it? Maybe Kien left something in that cave. I can unravel it.”
“There’s nothing there to find. At least nothing you can fix.” Vek drummed his fingers on his knee. “I went to the cave. It’s…there’s nothing poisoned there.”
“I can tell the waves of magic originate in the cave where we fought Kien,” Fen argued.
“They do.” Vek’s gaze encompased everyone. “There’s a crack there. Not one you can see, of course, but a crack in the wall restraining the bulk of Earth’s magical energy.”
Delbin, who’d been exiled to Earth for much of his life, shook his head. Like Fen, there was a lot of magical lore he didn’t know. “What are you talking about?”
“I do not understand, either,” Inona said, appearing just as confused.
Maddy and Anna exchanged equally blank looks.
Vek let out a low chuckle. “Ah, how the so-called greater races have fallen behind. You didn’t know we saved you so many millennia ago, did you? According to legend, the fae races began to abandon Earth because the magic started to fade. They slipped into different dimensions or journeyed through the portal to new lands. Even humans talk about the magic disappearing, but they attribute it to belief. Or the lack thereof. We Unseelie have been happy to have the stories say so, but it’s time for that misapprehension to change.”
“You make no sense,” Inona said, her brows drawing together. “Our historians would have recorded the cause of decreased energy.”
One corner of Vek’s mouth tipped up. “They didn’t know. We Unseelie have always been masters of shadow, you see. We understand better than others what happens when power goes unrestrained. Earth’s energy was growing, not leveling off, enough that humans learned to use it. With magic so easily accessible, small wars broke out constantly. The fighting never would have stopped. So we bound and sealed much of the magic in a parallel dimension without the other races’ knowledge.”
Fen dropped heavily onto one side of the sectional. Was Vek serious? “Why? Your kind crave conflict.”
“My kind, hmm?” Vek asked with a smirk. “We don’t shy from a fight, but a cataclysm makes even the shadows unpleasant. To lessen the chance of a catastrophic war, we bound the energy with blood. Now something has cracked it. You drew blood from Kien, did you not?”
Fen nodded.
Any hint of humor left Vek’s face. “He must have done something to the barrier when he died. He was linked to Earth’s energy…and to you. The power trapped behind that wall chips away at that crack with every moment, releasing magic with each fragment that shatters. Those with latent fae blood, like young Anna here, will awaken, and gods know what else will happen. Provided we aren’t all killed by the force when the dam breaks. I’m no Earth mage, and you’re weakened by the poison even if you were trained. In short, we’re all fucked.”
What in the hell were they going to do? The others’ faces echoed the worry that slammed Fen’s heart. Then Delbin cursed beneath his breath, and Inona pinned Vek with a glare. Anna gripped Maddy’s hand, making Fen’s insides twist in unexpected but acute longing. As the desire to wrap a comforting arm around both of them swamped him, Fen averted his gaze.
One hopeless situation at a time.
“I hope you have some evidence of this story,” Inona said.
“I suppose you can create your own myth for it if you need to.” Vek shrugged. “You are welcome to explore the cave yourselves to feel the crack, but good luck sealing it without a dragon.”
Pain replaced the anger in her eyes. “I am uncertain I am prepared to return to the cave.”
“That was not a taunt,” Vek said evenly. “By my own blood, I swear that I have spoken only truth in this matter.”
Fen’s lips twitched. If the others didn’t know how many shades of the truth there might be, he wasn’t going to tell them. He had more important things to consider. Number one? Find a way to heal himself. Then he could see about averting the coming disaster. Vek might think a dragon was required, but Fen had his doubts. He’d inserted poison into Earth’s energy field, manipulating it in the process. How different could some magical barrier be?
Maybe stopping an apocalypse would impress Maddy and Anna, provided he didn’t die. Ah, well. He could deal with either outcome.
Panic and fear clawed through the layers of quicksand clouding Aris’s mind. Why? Through the morass he dug, seeking something to hold, until he gripped the fear itself to pull his way out. Why did he feel this terror? Why did he follow it? The sand gripped him, but he fought through each layer until finally he was free.
A frenzied tapping met his ears as he opened his eyes against the dim light. For a moment, Aris processed his surroundings. The bed beneath him. The glow from the globe near his headboard. His sleep-stiffened muscles. Footsteps—the source of the tapping. He stretched each leg and then his arms before carefully sitting up.
Across the room, Kezari paced. Her form appeared different somehow, and he squinted against the dim light to try to discern why. Was her body larger? Taller? Her fingers extended farther than an elf’s should, her nails curved into dragonesque claws. Her skin gleamed with the dark golden hue of her natural form, and he thought he caught a hint of scales along one arm.
Did he want to know what had led to her current state?
Really, he didn’t have a choice. Her panic curled through him, threatening to trigger his own. Gods help them all if they both lost it. “Kezari?”
She stopped, her chest heaving as she stared at him. “You are no longer at rest.”
“How could I be when you are so upset?” Aris pushed his hair from his face and stifled a yawn. “What happened?”
“The queen banished me,” Kezari answered, her voice emerging in a deep rumble. A puff of smoke curled from her nose. “I must abandon this quest and petition to return, or I will be cast from my home. Your leaders say I could live here. Here, with the elves? Our kind did not cohabit well before. I do not know what to do. The Earth screams. Violation. Explosion.”
“Slow down,” he said. “When did you hear from your queen?”
Kezari hissed. “She did not contact me. She gave her decree to your king. But I could become Moranaian. I do not know if I want this thing. Where would I live? I would lose most of my hoard. This is a possibility most distressing.”
It took a moment for his groggy mind the comprehend the import of her words. “My leaders? Do you mean Lyr or Ralan?”
“Both,” she answered.
“They offered you citizenship? A new home?”
“But I will have no home. No place. No cave. No hoard,” Kezari moaned.
Aris grimaced in sympathy, but at least he could help in this regard. “All Moranaians are provided with the basics for survival so long as they contribute to our society. We can work together to rebuild your hoard. I’ve gained enough wealth exploring over the centuries to contribute. Besides, wouldn’t being a Moranaian citizen free you to fly anywhere you want to seek treasure? You’d no longer be restricted to the dragons’ isle.”
Her head tilted in thought. “That is so.”
“More importantly, it would allow you to go through the portal.” He smiled. “Moranaians may do so, provided they follow the rules.”
“It is much to consider,” she said.
“Yes.” Had the scales faded from her skin? Her coloring appeared a little less gold, he was fairly certain. “Is the threat you sense from Earth severe enough that you must give up everything?”
Kezari pressed her palms against her temples and let out a low groan. A wave of magic pulsed around her, rumbling through the floor and up the walls. Aris scrambled from the bed as her eyes went blank and her flesh changed color once more. Instinctively, he connected through their bond in an attempt to calm her as she had so often done for him.
Only to be swamped in sensation.
If he’d been in quicksand before, now it was a mudslide. A mountain’s worth of screaming darkness tinged with the slow thrum of the Earth’s heart. But something wasn’t right. Beat, beat, groan. Beat, beat, crack. The burn of raw energy seeped into his core, shifting. Changing. Insects cried. Birds screeched a warning.
Something is coming.
Something is coming.
Something is coming.
Cold fingers brushed against his forehead, and the sensations cut off like a broken mage globe. He became aware of his frantic breathing and the heat of his own skin. As the haze left Aris’s vision, Tynan’s face solidified in his view. Aris blinked rapidly as the healer’s magic flooded him with serenity. He stood in the same place, his legs shaky but holding his weight, yet his outlook had changed.
“Gods,” Aris said under his breath.
But Kezari heard. “I am sorry, skizik. I did not know you would do that. But now you see?”
Aris nodded. The dragon still paced, but the healer’s presence seemed to have given her some comfort since she’d returned fully to her elven form. After experiencing what she felt, he couldn’t imagine how. And she’d been living with this for over a week? She was far stronger than he was.
“I’ll help rebuild your hoard and find you a cave. Anything. We need to get to Earth before whatever that is erupts,” Aris said.
“Yes,” Kezari said sadly. “There is no choice. There never was.”
Perim tugged herself through the narrow passage, ignoring the scrape of rough rock. She would heal quickly, as always, and the day’s pain had been well worth the effort. The air vents hewn through the queen’s own mountain were rarely considered by anyone, least of all the useless fae content to die off waiting for some dragon to claim them. Fools. The dragons rarely chose partners anymore, the bonds not happening as they once had.
Well, Perim wasn’t waiting.
She’d almost had a way off the cursed island with Aris, but now that chance was gone. Why had the dragon claimed him now? Time passed so slowly for the dragons that Kezari hadn’t even noticed how long Aris was “training.” Hah. The wyrm knew so little about the fae that she hadn’t questioned the little tradition Perim had made up. But as soon as she’d fished Aris from the sea and heard the dragon’s roar at a skizik’s presence, she’d known what to do—hide him until she could use him.
If only he’d bonded with her. Why had he refused? Perim had tried pleasure and pain. Incentive and deprivation. Anything. Everything. She’d broken his bones, carved at his flesh, and claimed his body. Still, their souls remained separate. Curse him and his stubbornness. Why didn’t he understand that she needed that bond? None of the dragons would link with her so she could escape this terrible place, but she could have used her soulbond with Aris to coerce Kezari.
She would’ve let him go after that. Probably.
Perim hissed as a protruding rock bit into her side, drawing blood, but she pulled herself forward without pausing. She had a solution now, and it was all thanks to Kezari. Based on the council meeting she’d overheard, the stupid dragon had enemies. What good fortune that Baza and Tebzn had paused near the air vent to discuss the…disposition of Kezari’s hoard if she decided not to return.
Baza was a mage. If any dragon knew a way off this useless island, he would. And Perim could give him plenty of incentive. She could locate Aris, and thus Kezari, through their potential bond. They would never expect her to find a way off the island to track them down, so Baza’s aid and a well-placed blade would solve everyone’s problems. Maybe she would kill Aris, too.
No need to leave loose ends.
By the time Inona pulled Delbin through the portal onto Moranaian soil, she was ready to drop. She might not believe all that Prince Vek had claimed, but there was no doubt something important was happening. As with their previous journey, the strands in the Veil had twisted and turned, sometimes snapping back on themselves, until her head had ached with the strain. But finally they were through.
At least now she knew the cause of the Veil’s increasing tumult.
She leaned against Delbin’s steady form and ignored the stares of the portal guards as she regained her strength. A shiver went through her with each bit of energy she gathered. Nothing could compare to the power of their home world, especially not Earth. Although if Prince Vek could be believed, Earth had once been far richer. Could that magic truly be breaking free?
“Are you okay?” Delbin asked softly.
Inona straightened and then curled her fingers around his. “I’m only tired. Let’s go report in.”
He frowned. “It’s the middle of the night.”
“The Myern will want to know what we learned immediately, even if we must wake him.” Inona gave a gentle tug as she started down the trail. “He urged me to do so before we left.”
Delbin fell silent as they walked, and her heart twisted at the hesitant way he held her hand. He claimed that the scar seared into her throat didn’t bother him, but he hadn’t acted the same toward her since she’d awakened in the healer’s tower three weeks ago. They needed to talk about it, of course. Once she gathered the courage to ask.
“Was it bad?” Delbin asked. “Being back on Earth?”
A cold gust of wind blew around them, and a frigid drop of rain plopped on Inona’s arm. Shivering again, she huddled closer to Delbin as they walked. “Yes and no.”
Delbin released her hand, only to curl his arm around her waist and tug her close. “I wish you’d talk to me.”
She halted in the middle of the trail to peer up at his face, barely visible in the dim moonlight. “What?”
“I’m sorry that I failed you in the cave.” His jaw clenched. “I tried to take control of Kien, but I wasn’t strong enough.”
A low laugh burst from her lips before she could contain it. “Surely you don’t think I blame you. I am a warrior, Delbin. I should never have put myself into a position where Kien could grab me, and I paid for that lapse. It had nothing to do with you.”
“You’re so quiet and withdrawn,” Delbin said. “I thought you were upset at me.”
She brushed the backs of her fingers against his cheek. “No. You’ve been different, too, and I thought…my scar…”
With a chuckle, he lowered his forehead to hers. “We’ve been reacting to each other’s reactions. I don’t care about scars. I love you regardless of the appearance of your neck.”
Her heart warmed even as relief made her shaky. “As I love you.”
Delbin lowered his mouth for a quick kiss. When he pulled away, he was smiling. “Let’s go give that report. I’d like to finish this discussion in our room.”
Though more rain began to fall, the chill couldn’t cool the heat pooling within her. She had a feeling she was about to give the fastest report of her life.
Chapter 13
When the knock sounded on her door again, Selia considered burying her head beneath the pillow. The room was too dark to see the water clock, so the sun couldn’t be up yet. Could she ignore the disturbance? Just as she began to give the matter serious debate, she detected Arlyn’s energy brushing against her privacy shield. If her student was being this persistent, there must be something wrong.
“Fine,” Selia grumbled, shoving the covers aside and lowering her legs over the side of the bed.
She rubbed her eyes and opened a
mental connection with Arlyn. “What time is it?”
“Not long before dawn,” Arlyn answered, her inner voice just as sluggish. “Sorry to wake you. Onaial sent Kai to consult with his father less than a mark ago. Now he wants us to meet him downstairs.”
“Now?”
“Delbin and Inona returned from Earth not long ago,” Arlyn sent. “The dragon’s suspicions were correct.”
Selia rubbed her fingers across her nose. “I’ll be down in a moment.”
As Arlyn’s presence faded, Selia jerked to her feet and rushed into the dressing chamber. Thank goodness she’d decided to have a soak last night before sleeping, since she wouldn’t have time for a bath this morning. Instead, she brushed her long hair and braided it. Then she shucked her nightdress and tugged on a thick pair of pants and a long-sleeved tunic with practical boots. She grabbed her cloak on the way out the door in case she had to go outside in search of Aris. From the sound of the rain plopping against the windows, the weather would be wet, cold, and generally unpleasant.
Fortunately, Aris and Kezari had already joined Arlyn and Lyr in the study by the time Selia hurried in and hung her cloak on a hook. Her steps hitched when she focused on her beloved’s face. There was an intensity there that she hadn’t seen since he’d left on his last fateful journey. That unusual blend of curiosity and adventurousness that had so often propelled him to places unseen, far different from the shattered pain of the night before.
Selia took the only free seat in the center of the room, Aris to her left and Arlyn across from her. Lyr leaned forward in his chair next to Arlyn as Kezari shifted restlessly by the window. “Thank you for joining us, Selia,” Lyr said.
Wordlessly, Arlyn grabbed a mug of tea and handed it over. Selia took a tentative sniff and then smiled. An energetic blend, perfect for morning. “I surmise that the news is not good,” she said after taking a quick sip.
“No,” Lyr said. “According to Inona’s report, Prince Vek of the Unseelie claims that a crack has formed in the wall blocking much of Earth’s magical energy. He told them that his people set up the block millennia ago to stop the fighting between the fae and humans, but I’ve never heard of any such thing.”
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