by Wagner, Raye
The air reeked of blood and death and betrayal.
I stretched my neck as I cleared the shards of glittering quartz and broken wood off my massive body. I stomped on the ground as I bellowed in rage. I swung my neck wide, crashing the side of my head through the walls of the queen’s house, roaring in fury.
Kaelen threw a piece of rubble off himself and then scrambled to uncover his mate. He choked at her pulverized form. Black webs had snaked through her broken body, and her open wounds were easy victims to Tyrrik’s blood dripping from the rubble with the basins flung and overturned.
Kaelen struggled to his feet, and above, the golden filaments of ancestral power protecting the Phaetyn from the emperor, dissolved into the darkness.
“You killed my mate!” His face filled with horror as he tipped his head to the sky. “You’ve brought down the barrier—”
I whipped my tail, lashing it across his torso. He was thrown across his dead queen, landing with a cry of pain. Using my talons, I swept at the rubble and the dipped weapons mixed in, launching them at the Phaetyn King.
A knife sliced the back of his raised hand. He stared in horror as black darkened his skin, oozing outward from the wound. His gaze lifted to mine, and I lowered myself to his level and licked my fangs. I would not be a victim to the schemes of the Phaetyn, and I would not allow them to steal from me, manipulate me, or hurt me again. I would protect my friends.
Once Kaelan was dead, I roared again, announcing throughout the entirety of Zivost I was Drae. The remaining Phaetyn had gathered when I burst out of the ceiling of the quartz house, but now, they fled. I watched them go, and then, using my tail, I laid the entire Pink House to waste. If I could breathe fire, I would’ve burned it to ash.
I turned and spotted Dyter at the edge of the trees behind me, eyes wide as he stood over Tyrrik’s unconscious body. He’d managed to drag him a fair way on the blanket. I lumbered toward them, pausing to remind any Phaetyn within the sound of my voice I was done playing games.
Shh, Khosana.
I yelped in surprise, an odd rumbling in my throat. Tyrrik? My heart pounded, and his voice shattered through my Drae form. Only a few seconds later, I stood on top of the rubble in my Phaetyn form.
“Tyrrik,” I screamed, running toward the trees.
Dyter moved out of the way, but when I got to Tyrrik, he was still unconscious. I thought of our mental barrier, but I’d not had any wall up when I changed, and I didn’t have one up now. He’d spoken; I was sure of it. I ran my hand over his chest as I whispered, “Please Tyrrik, don’t leave me.”
* * *
“Come on, Dyter,” I said, hefting Tyrrik upright. “We need to leave before the rest of Phaetynville decides to come visit.”
I pulled the Drae over my shoulder, hunching as I strode into the trees. I didn’t care how or what direction, I was leaving this place right now. I tried to shift back to my Drae, but my emotions made it impossible to focus.
“Ryn.”
I looked up to see Kamini staring out from between the trunks.
“You must leave now,” she said.
I tensed, but Kamini was someone the trees had shown me many times. They didn’t see her as a danger to the Phaetyn which meant she wasn’t a danger to me . . . right? “And I suppose you’re going to help us?”
She tilted her head. “Yes.”
I shook my head once before I remembered my visions from the ash tree.
“Ryn!”
I spun to see Kamoi emerging from the rubble.
“If you wish to leave, it must be now,” Kamini said urgently, her eyes flickering to Kamoi.
I looked at Kamini, but the Phaetyn girl shook her head. I didn’t know if that meant she didn’t trust Kamoi or if she didn’t want him to overhear this conversation.
I deliberated. I really didn’t want to linger here or want to trust anyone else, not even with the tree’s assurances, but Dyter and I could wander for hours lost in this place. “Fine,” I said. “Let’s go.”
We backed into the trees, Kamini leading the way.
We walked for what felt like an eternity to my weary body. As the branches of trees brushed my skin, I caught glimpses of Phaetyn running, hiding in clusters, royal guards giving chase. Dyter walked alongside me, silent as a mute.
I cleared my throat, shifting Tyrrik on my shoulders, and asked, “Can we stop for a minute? Are we far enough away from . . . wherever that it’s safe for us to take a break?”
Kamini turned, the fear on her adult-child face smoothing to an impassive expression.
Creepy.
“If we stop now, we might not make it to the border in time.”
“In time?” I demanded. I wanted to scream. “How about if I shift again and carry us all to the border?”
“Then we definitely won’t make it in time. If they see your Drae form, we’ll have too many visitors for you to tree-talk,” she said. “How long did it take you to get to the center of Zivost when they brought you in?”
“About four hours,” I said. The idea of carrying Tyrrik for another four hours made me want to curl up in a ball.
“We’ve been walking for twenty minutes,” Kamini said. “We’ll be to the border in another five minutes.”
Wait . . . What? I tried to catch up with the Phaetyn’s plan. Get to the border and tree-talk. Right.
“They do it to confuse visitors.”
I was confused now. “You get visitors?” I asked, glancing at Dyter, who looked just as baffled as me.
“Not often, but leading newcomers a longer route to our city is protocol,” Kamini said.
Seriously, having a conversation with an eight-year-old that sounded like she was thirty was so creepy.
“Why are you helping us?” I asked, helplessly. “I just killed the queen and king.”
Her gaze slid to me. “I should be thanking you for killing the queen; that certainly helps our cause.”
This time when I shifted Tyrrik it wasn’t really because he needed it. “You’re a rebel?”
She dipped her head. “Correct. Now, this is of utmost importance. I must know what the ash tree told you.”
Since entering the Zivost, the only things to tell me the absolute truth had been the trees. And the trees trusted Kamini. She was Luna’s daughter. That meant something. I glanced to Dyter, who didn’t give me any sign of what to do . . . so I trusted my gut.
In a halting voice which grew stronger, I told the story of her mother leaving her with her aunt. I finished the story by asking, “Did you already know?”
She shook her head. “I suspected Alani wasn’t my mother. I knew Kaelan wasn’t my father.”
“Wouldn’t the trees tell you?” I asked. If the trees tell Phaetyn what they’ve seen, wouldn’t she be able to see it, too.
She shook her head again, a slow smile spreading across her face. “I don’t have a tree here, and I don’t have the ancestral power, so I can’t talk with all the trees as you can.”
I tripped over an exposed tree root. “But your mother was Luna Nuloa.”
“So you say. That’s why I want you to talk with the trees at the border.”
“To confirm she was your mother?” I was missing something. Granted, I was physically and mentally exhausted. Actually, I think I’d passed exhausted on the spectrum and was rapidly approaching delirious.
But if Luna Nuloa was Kamini’s mother, wouldn’t that make Kamini the new queen? Shouldn’t she also have ancestral powers being born before me? The eldest daughter inherited them after all. I only had ancestral power because Luna had poured hers into me so my mother wouldn’t miscarry. Surely if Kamini had ancestral powers, that would be common knowledge.
“Do you dream?” she asked, changing the subject.
I stumbled again and growled. “I’ve been too tired lately to dream.”
But that wasn’t completely true because last night here in Zivost, I dreamed the emperor’s Druman were chasing me. I was not going to share my nightmares wi
th her.
“I dream all the time,” she said. “I dream about a Phaetyn girl. She lives outside our walls. She does what the Phaetyn are meant to do; she’s a land healer.” She paused and then added, “I believe it is my destiny to become her.”
“Is that what drove you to join the rebellion?” Dyter asked.
Kamini laughed, but the sound reverberated with bitterness. “That vision is what drove me to create the rebellion.”
Holy Pancakes! Kamini was the leader of the rebellion? I shared a shocked look with Dyter.
She halted. “We’re here. You can set him down,” she said. “I need you to touch the tree. It should be easier now. Phaetyn powers get easier every time you use them.”
I slid Tyrrik from my shoulders to the ground, circling my arms to loosen the stiff muscles. “First tell me what you’re looking for?”
“The truth,” she said, grabbing my empty hands and pressing them to the trunk of a large elm.
Colors burst behind my eyes, and then murky shadows formed. Luna Nuloa and her guards stood beside the elm, the queen holding her daughter wrapped in a silvery blanket. Luna lowered the rock wall, and as she tilted her head to see to the other side of the barrier, the moonlight exposed her devastated face. She murmured to one of the guards, but her words were lost in the silence of the images. She pointed back toward Zivost and then to the outside. The wall retracted, and the three of them began to cross.
As Luna left Zivost for the other side, her mortal lover emerged. He smiled, his eyes lit with love, and in his arms, he held a small child.
I withdrew my hands, realizing the moment I did that Kamini no longer held them to the tree. I grinned and opened my eyes, my heart pounding with excitement in anticipation of telling her what I’d seen. Luna and her human lover had another, older child together. At least, that’s what I’d understood from the visions. That would explain why Kamini didn’t possess the ancestral powers for her generation. Was her older sibling female and still out there somewhere, an unknown solution to the Phaetyn’s troubles? My mind moved frantically, putting the pieces together. Luna had mated with Kaelan long ago but over time saw that he and Alani were in love. She’d eventually broken their binding and then fell in love with a human and had two children with him, giving the youngest to Alani and Kaelan, perhaps to babysit, or maybe Luna didn’t trust them with the eldest daughter. The emperor had then slaughtered Luna’s human lover and captured her. Alani became queen after this, and Kaelan king once more, while Luna was pouring her ancestral powers into my mother’s womb, into me.
All of the pieces finally fit together. I opened my mouth to tell Kamini when a rustling in the forest made me freeze.
“Ryn? Dyter?” Kamoi called, just before stepping out of the trees with several guards.
Relief washed over Kamoi’s features as his gaze flitted over Kamini and then met mine. “I’ve been so worried.”
“I’m glad you’re okay,” I said. He’d taken on his father for me. I couldn’t imagine how that was going to haunt him in time.
Kamini’s gaze shifted from her brother to me, and she pursed her lips.
Kamoi crossed the dirt patch leading up to the large elm and scooped me into his arms. “Curse the night, what happened?” He breathed into my hair, the thudding of his heart tangible where our chests touched. He continued to hold me close as he said, “One minute my father is throwing fruit at you, and then chaos ensues. How did you get away?”
I drew back, tapping him on the chest at the same time. He set me down, a sad smile resting on his lips.
Drak. How was I supposed to tell him I’d killed his parents? “Uh, I . . . uh,”
He shook his head, jaw clenched. “I know what happened in the clearing. I watched it.”
“I’m sorry,” I said, and in my mind I added, your parents died. Because I wasn’t sorry I’d killed them. Not sorry at all.
The guards continued to hover inside the tree line, their attention focused on the prince and Kamini.
Kamoi shook his head again. “I’m not. I mean . . .” He swallowed before continuing, “I’m sorry they’re dead, but they were terrible leaders for our people as I’m sure you saw. That might be wrong of me to say—”
His eyes grew dark and hard for an instant before he glanced up at me with a softened gaze, and my heart squeezed at the conflict that must be rampant inside him. “What will happen to the Phaetyn now?” I asked. “The golden barrier is down.”
Kamoi’s gaze went from me to Dyter and then back to me. “You are the only Phaetyn with ancestral powers.” Kamoi glanced at Kamini before turning back to me. “Will you lead our people, Ryn?”
25
I closed my eyes to control the overwhelming urge to burst out into bitter laughter. Would I rule these people who had made me feel uneasy and unwelcome from day one? Would I help the people who had drained an unconscious Drae of blood just to properly kill each other? “No,” I said. “There are so many reasons, but the short answer is no.”
“Please,” Kamoi said, reaching for my hands. He entwined his fingers with mine and held them to his chest. “Please come back. We can figure this out; together we can rebuild a better Zivost.”
I extracted my hands. “I can’t, Kamoi. I’m not Phaetyn, not really. I can’t ignore the problems of this world to solve your people’s problems. I need to leave. I need to help Tyrrik get better, and we need to go to Gemond to talk with their king. We have a war to wage.”
Dyter glanced at me, and I nodded at him. I’d made my choice. I was part of this world whether I liked it or not. I couldn’t stand by while the emperor drove this realm and its people into the ground.
Kamoi nodded. “I understand. You are needed elsewhere now, but when you are done, I hope you’ll come back.”
I shook my head, repeating, “I’m not Phaetyn.”
He smiled, his gaze taking me in. “You are Phaetyn in every way that matters. You’ve captured my heart. Just promise me you’ll come back and we can try.”
I’d captured his heart? When? I took a deep breath and told him the truth. “I’m sorry, Kamoi. If I promised you anything, it would be a lie. There is no we, and there won’t be a we. My heart is Drae; it beats as a Drae. To tell you anything else would be misleading.”
The Phaetyn prince studied my face. “I understand. You can’t reason with the heart. But there may come a time when you feel differently. I’ll not lose hope. Not yet.”
“So you’ll let us go?” I asked.
Kamoi frowned. “Of course I’ll let you go. I was trying to find you to help make sure you got out safely.”
“I’m sorry,” I said, bowing my head. I didn’t know who to trust anymore. I was relying on the judgment of freakin’ trees.
“Don’t apologize,” he said. “I’m surprised you’ll even talk with me after I brought you here. If anyone should be apologizing, it should be me.”
“You defended me in the end, Kamoi.” I smiled at him, a tightness clamping my heart at the thought of what he’d lost tonight. “Thank you for saving my life.”
“Thank you, Highness,” Dyter said. “Perhaps you could convey my message to whomever rises to power?”
The Phaetyn prince turned to Kamini who stood quietly watching the scene. “If we’re lucky, the Phaetyn will recognize Kamini as our queen.” He put his hand on his sister. “She’s the highest-ranking female below Ryn.”
I looked back and forth between the two of them and met Kamini’s gaze. “Your mother was Luna, not Alani.” I glanced at Kamoi, and even though I knew the answer, I asked, “You know she’s Luna’s daughter?”
“Yes,” he said simply. “But she doesn’t have ancestral powers.” He faced his cousin and said, “I didn’t realize you knew, Kami.”
“I’ve known for a long time. It’s not hard to piece together when your supposed parents hate the sight of you. Kaelan tended to divulge too much when his ire was raised.” Tears gathered in Kamini’s eyes.
“I’m sorry I didn�
��t tell you, Kami, but I didn’t want you to have to shoulder a weight you were never meant to carry.” Kamoi hung his head.
She bit her lip while he spoke and then said, “That wasn’t your decision to make.”
He winced, and I felt a zing of pride for the Phaetyn girl.
“You’re right,” he said, bowing his head. “I apologize.” He dropped to a knee before the young Kamini and said, “I will pledge my allegiance to you, Kami, and serve however you deem best. I only want what is best for our people.”
I flicked a glance at Dyter and hesitated, thinking back to what the tree had shown me. I may not see Kamoi or Kamini for a long time, or ever again. Where I was going, I couldn’t be sure I’d even survive. This information shouldn’t go with me to the grave. Despite the terror I’d experienced in this forest, I knew there was good in Phaetynville worth saving. The Phaetyn deserved to have a queen with ancestral powers if she was still alive. “What if there was another child? What if Luna had a child before Kamini? Another daughter?”
Dyter looked at me as if I’d lost my mind, but Kamoi and Kamini only raised their brows in an expression that proved they were related. It also reinforced the fact they’d both made the same connection long ago.
Kamini’s eyes widened with excitement. “Did the trees show you an elder child?” When I nodded, her eyes lit. “Are you sure?” she asked, before whispering to herself, “I have a sister.”
Kamoi glanced at his adopted sister and then smiled widely at me. “Where is she?”
His excitement relieved me. I’d worried he might resent Kamini being replaced. “I don’t know. The trees don’t know.” The eldest daughter’s location was the crux of the problem. With an aerial view, it probably wouldn’t be difficult to find her. She was a land healer in a realm drained of life. “But we can find her.”
Kamoi stood and brushed my cheek with his fingers. “Yes, we can.” He turned to Kamini. “If you want me to search for her, you know I will—”
Kamini held up her hand. “First we need to secure Zivost. If Ryn hasn’t found her by then, we’ll reassess. I want her here as much as anyone . . . trust me. But I want there to be a Zivost sanctuary, too.”
