Then he stopped, as if that tiny shiver was actually a slap to his face. He pulled his lips away, and looked down at me. Without saying a word, and with a blank mask shrouding his features, he pulled away from me.
At first I thought he was just done kissing. I had never been in a real relationship before, so I didn’t know if that’s what happened when you were done with the best kiss of your life. Or maybe, that’s just how the Fae reacted to a kiss. But when he pulled away, sat back, and looked away from me, I could tell he was not happy.
Maybe I shouldn’t have kissed him after all. I took a deep breath and tried to calm my haywire senses that were on overload.
When I looked at him, I felt my face heat, and was certain it matched the color of the field I sat in. I could only blame my actions on the flowers intoxicating my mind, the giddiness caused by the flight, the glorious, steamy memories of our last kiss and the lightheadedness caused from merely being in his presence.
I leaned back in the grass, laying flat against the calm earth in the shade from the flowers whose sillage wafted around me, and threw my arms up over my head. I breathed in deep, trying to calm my heavy breathing and shaking heart.
“I’m sorry,” he said, without even turning to look at me. “I shouldn’t have done that. I didn’t mean to.” Then he cleared his throat, stood up and started fumbling with the abscondita. He pulled out the tripudio, placed it on the ground and began his magic mist stuff.
“Why are you sorry? You didn’t do anything,” I said, wanting only to understand.
Had I misread the situation? For once I had fire in my veins. I didn’t want to just sit back and let him give me some lame ass half-answer, or no answer at all. I wanted to understand, not only what the hell he was talking about, but what was going on with me, with us. If there even was an us. Or if I was deluding myself into believing he had any connection to me other than wanting to kill the same people that killed my parents?
My parents…
Guilt gnawed at my insides, as I realized I hadn’t thought about them in hours. I was glad Alec didn’t answer; apparently I had been deluding myself. My fire instantly sputtered out, doused in the cool waters of grief and remorse.
The tripudio spun, and together we jumped into it. Despite the fact that apparently he didn’t like kissing me, he still held me in his arms so that we could travel to this Muircadia place.
In that moment, as we walked through what looked like outer space, I decided I needed to grow up. Who cared about a boy? I wouldn’t. I would allow him to help me, and then I would avenge my parents, and then I would never see him again.
At the end of the tunnel of darkness I saw the exit, the pinprick of light that grew into something larger. I went back into his arms, trying with all might to ignore the butterflies and the growing hunger for him, and hoped we would find the Mortem soon so it could all finally be over.
Because I didn’t think my heart could anymore of these flip-flopping emotions.
Chapter Thirty Two
Water: A clear liquid that flows within Muircadia. It is only ingestible by Sprites, and can cause great illness, pain and discomfort to Sylph and Nymphs. It is fatal to Pixies, functioning as an acid.
When I opened my eyes, I felt like I was in my dream again. The reoccurring dream that haunted me ever since I could remember, where I stood in a tiny patch of grass, surrounded by woods, water, and a desert. Except this time, it was just the water.
We stood at the edge of a lake or river; the pulsing crystal water flowed effortlessly past us. Directly in front of me was a rocky beach, no sand, only small pebbles. I turned around to see that we stood on an island of pebbles. There wasn’t a tree in sight, and the suns warmth beat down on me. I wiped a single drop of sweat from the back of my neck after I threw my hair up in a twisted bun.
“Why is it so hot?”
Alec ignored me at first, as he was inspecting our surroundings. I heard him mumble a few words like, “Steam,” and “Hmm?” and “No.”
I could tell he was focusing and using magic, so I decided not to talk to him and inspect stuff myself. The island couldn’t have been much larger than a football field, so I had no idea where we would go from here. In the distance to my right I could make out another mass of land, but it didn’t look very big from here, or maybe it was just really far away.
When I spun in a circle, I couldn’t see any more land, only water everywhere I looked. In one spot, it almost looked like the land ended. Maybe The Empyrean wasn’t on a planet like Earth, and it really was flat. Who needed gravity when you had magic, right?
I tried to be patient with him, I really did. I knew he was doing something important. I knew he was trying to figure something or other out, but I was still upset about his reaction after the kiss. And I wanted something to happen. I couldn’t really go anywhere. I was still dependent on him and that only irritated me more.
All of a sudden Alec ran to me and pushed me behind him, his arms spread open wide in front of him. My alerts started flaring and my heart started racing. If he was freaking out, I knew there was a reason for it. And that sucked, because I so didn’t want to see fighting again so soon.
In the middle of the water, a few feet out, I noticed three shapes emerge. A female with two males behind her. They came forward, water dripping down there bodies. They all had a bluish tint to their skin, but the woman was different. She had the most beautiful, striking blue eyes I had ever seen. And her dark black hair shimmered behind her, as it blew in the wind flicking water droplets around her. She was absolutely gorgeous. More beautiful than any models I’d seen on TV or any magazine that littered the library shelves.
As they came closer, I noticed that all three of them had gills on each side of their necks and on their wrists. But as they came up onto the island, and further from the water, their necks and arms changed and became normal, their gills disappearing just as the blue in their skin faded.
She walked directly up to Alec. He was still crouched down in his battle stance, so I was too, ready and waiting for whatever was about to happen. I mean, we were after all in the middle of an island, in the middle of a lake, with no place to go. And obviously these people could easily navigate the water surrounding us. Still, I would do whatever I could, whatever it took to help.
“Are you the Sylph Realm Guard called Alec?” the beautiful woman asked.
“I am he.”
“You may call me Lynn.” As she spoke, I couldn’t help but think she reminded me more of a mermaid than a fairy. “You should come.”
Alec nodded and motioned for me to follow.
“I don’t want to state the obvious here, but are we just going to swim away?” I asked, more to myself than anyone specific. I mean, they had to realize that we weren’t Sprites, right?
The confused looks the three of them shot in my direction was actually pretty hilarious. Apparently she hadn’t even noticed I was there, just like everyone else in The Empyrean. I didn’t know if it was because I was so small, or because I was a Sylph with no wings. Or maybe because I just didn’t have any magic so they couldn’t sense me and didn’t realize I was another fae standing there.
But their aghast looks said something. I mean, if I was a fae, then I should know what would happen in Muircadia. They just didn’t realize I wasn’t from around here. I wondered if it would be bad if they found out. Would they treat me like an outsider?
Alec shook his head, just a tiny shake before turning to the Sprites and saying, “Can we have just a minute, please?” He took me aside, out of ear shot from the others.
“First, it is very important that you do not touch or drink the water from here. It isn’t like the water in the Mortal Realm.”
“Right, I remember you saying that back in Ardennes.”
“I’m going to create a bubble of magic around us. The Sprites don’t need it, but we will. You’ll be safe as long as you’re with me. For right now, we’ll be going beneath the water. I’m not sure if she plans on
leading us to Central Village, or one of the smaller villages. They do have villages on land, but most are beneath the waters. For right now, we just have to trust her, as Rita placed us in each other’s paths, and when we get to wherever we are going, we’ll discuss the Mortem.”
“Okay.”
We walked up to the water behind the three sprites. Just as they began entering the water, their skin changed again. Now that I was closer to them, I could see that the blue on their faces, arms and shoulders were actually scales that shined in the sun. Crazysauce.
Alec waved his hands around creating what looked like a glass ball around us. However, when I touched it, it wasn’t hard like glass. It felt like a thin film, almost permeable. I had the distinct impression that if I pushed hard enough against it, I could break it. Only problem, while inside that bubble, I was being bombarded with the most amazing smells of the sky and wind. It was all Alec, everywhere, all over, in everything. Not just standing next to me, but in the air, floating all around me, assaulting me with his magic and smell and sense.
It made it pretty difficult to stay mad at him when he smelt so damn good.
The bubble moved with us, and when we went into the water, it parted around us and before I knew it I was submerged into the deep, dark murkiness of Muircadia.
It was one thing to be surrounded by guards that I at least could fight against. But if the bubble burst, I still didn’t know how bad it would be if the water touched me. I tried to ignore it, because really it was super cool and amazing to see. All I could think though was, thank god I wasn’t claustrophobic, because that would seriously suck something fierce.
I could never go in a submarine or anything like that. It would be too scary, because there is no escape, nowhere to go. If something happened, you’re helpless and would probably die. And that’s a huge part of why I was freaking out so bad.
We didn’t have to walk long before I saw a tube in front of us. We moved closer, inch by inch. The tube was actually a tunnel in the water, made out of water, with Sprites walking in it. Stepping into the tunnel felt so weird. I couldn’t feel the water around us, only see it. I could see it part and then separate from Alec’s bubble as soon as we entered the enclosure of the tunnels.
The water around us was still pulsing. It was almost like the water itself was the walls to the tunnel, but I wasn’t going to touch it to find out. I looked around, but there was no Moses and I was pretty sure this wasn’t the Red Sea.
I could see the ocean life, the fish swimming in schools, and the coral growing along the ocean floor.
As soon as we were both all the way in the tunnel, the magic bubble disappeared.
“We are going to the rebel base right now,” Lynn offered.
“You speak so openly about it?” Alec asked, mirroring my own surprise.
“How long have you been gone, Realm Guard?”
“It’s been forty years since I’ve been home.”
“Well, welcome back. But much has changed. The Pixies are trying to destroy our Muircadia. It’s always been that way, the Pixies and Sprites never getting along. With water and fire constantly in combat against one another, our water so lethal to them, and their fire so destructive to us, it’s fated to be that way. But it is so much worse lately.”
“The steam above?” Alec questioned.
“Yes. They are creating fires all along our borders causing our waters to evaporate, shrinking our very home.”
The emotion behind her words resonated deep within me. I was homeless. I knew what it felt like to have no place to call home, and I knew how badly I wanted it. I could only imagine having a home, and having to watch it be destroyed with very little you could do to stop it. All the Sprites would be homeless.
Just like what Rita had said back in Ardennes, fearing her Nymph would have no home as well.
“Because of this, the majority of the rebellion resides here in Muircadia, which only adds to their determination to extinguish us. Don’t misunderstand, the leaders are still loyal to Mastikh, and we must watch out for them, but the majority of our citizens are still loyal to our King Coenraad,” she continued, and as she said the kings name, the two Sprites with her slightly bowed their heads.
We neared the end of the tunnel and were actually at a village already.
The entire place was under a bubble thing, just like the tunnel had been. If I looked up, searching for the sun, I only saw water above us, and all along the edge of the city. I could see Sprites swim and walk right through the non-existent wall of liquid.
And then I heard the most blood curdling scream I had ever heard, except for once before. When I heard my own scream the day I walked in to see my parents ruined bodies.
Somebody was being tortured.
Chapter Thirty Three
Lemuria: The Central Village in Muircadia. The entire city is beneath the water. Only a Sprite can visit, or one with magics powerful enough to shield himself from the water. Though the city is covered in water, there are some buildings and places that are dry within Lemuria.
“What was that?” I screeched, louder than I meant to. Everyone just kept walking, like they hadn’t just heard it, like there wasn’t someone fairly close to us screaming their head off.
Alec turned and looked me straight in the eye.
“Listen to me. You cannot react to what you will see. It may go against every single instinct in your body. But you cannot react to it.”
“What are you even talking about? It sounds like someone is seriously hurt,” I told him, trying to emphasize how crazy he sounded.
“Who is she?” Lynn asked Alec.
“She is my protégé.”
“Well, why has she never heard this before? Are you not required to give magics? Are Realm Guard not taxed?” At first she seemed confused, but that instantly changed into aggression.
“Of course I am.”
I ignored them and asked him again, “What’s happening? I don’t understand.”
Then I heard it again. That screeching, crying scream that tore down into the pit of my stomach and clawed at my insides killing little pieces of my heart. All the little hairs on my arms and neck stood erect. It sounded like someone was dying and it almost felt like I was being physically affected by it.
“A Sprite is being drained of their magic right now. It’s taxing time. We all must submit. Only, Sprites are up to being taxed once a week now.”
Alec’s shock and disgust at her statement made me realize even more how serious the situation was. He said he was worried about Fae being taxed every month, and that if it happened every other week, it would be devastating.
“Why do you think we are fighting against them, child?” Lynn asked me. I ignored her child statement, because really she could be hundreds of years old and to her, I guess I was a child. “Not only did they usurp the throne from the most righteous monarchs we have had in many millennium, but the damn Pixies have pushed the Sylph from Kamalani, making them crowd our waterways and parts of the Nymph Ardennes. They are using our resources, when we already don’t have enough. All while the Pixies are continuing to destroy what little resources we have left.
“And now, with them taxing us once a week, we cannot recover. We are being forced to kill ourselves. At this rate, Sprites will be extinct within a few decades, if that long!”
As she spoke, her eyes turned to an icy blue, cold and hard as stone.
“We used to be able to fight against them; the guards aren’t too hard to take down, especially since so many of them don’t actually want to hurt us. They know that what we’re doing is right. But with the Mortem coming after every rebel who stands his ground, we continue to lose. If you fight back, it would be considered treason and the guards would have free reign to kill you on sight.” She turned her head then, her black mane whipping around her shoulder, but not quite fast enough to hide the tear that dripped from those glacier filled eyes.
Alec looked at me sternly, as if to emphasize what he said earlier, an
d then we continued walking. The screaming continued, but this time it was a female. The sound was truly heart wrenching.
I was strong. I ignored it. I would not let it affect me. I was stone cold. Kinda. For the most part. Well…almost.
I tried to be, anyway. I’m pretty sure I left pieces of myself along that path, with every step I took without trying to help.
At least this place was familiar, minus the water surrounding us. It looked almost like a normal city in Kansas. I mean, no breeze, and no grassy weeds, and no bright sun, but there were buildings. I mean, real buildings, with stones, and not just tree limbs.
When we rounded a corner, we came to what looked like the center of the village. It was a round opening, with super tall buildings surrounding it. Up on a wooden platform was a group of five men, all dressed in white, and a line of sprites leading up to the platform.
It was there, in the center of the village, raised up for all to see, that the guards chose to drain magic. I could see the mist being pulled from the Sprite next to them, who looked young enough to be my age. I mean, I guess she could’ve been older, but she looked really young. And she was crying.
“A novice?” Alec demanded, after stopping Lynn in her tracks with a stare that would melt icebergs.
“They start one year after they mature now. At least here in Muircadia.” The somberness of her tone made me want to weep for them, for all of these people.
“A travesty if I ever heard one. And the rest of The Empyrean knows of this? I haven’t heard of it before now.” Alec’s face was still aghast at the tragedy we were all watching. If the girl on that stage was a novice, I was right in thinking she was young.
“I don’t know. I just know I want it over,” she said, before turning away and leaving the courtyard.
We followed behind her, leaving the poor victims to their own demise. How could this be happening? How can this tyrannical monarchy decide to steal the very life source from these people? Why has this been allowed to happen?
Enchanted Revenge Page 19
