by Morgan Wylie
“You okay?” Metrí asked, eyeing Kaeleigh suspiciously then shifting her gaze to Daegan.
A blush flooded Kaeleigh’s cheeks and she quickly turned her head back toward the destination ahead of them.
“Uh-huh, sure.” Metrí started giggling.
“What?” Kaeleigh asked innocently enough.
“You totally got it on with him, didn’t you?”
“What? No!” If possible, Kaeleigh’s face turned even more red than before. “It wasn’t that at all. We just... kissed.” At Metrí’s girlish gasp, Kaeleigh rolled her eyes. “Kissed. Just kissed... a lot.” This time Kaeleigh giggled.
“I knew it!”
“No you didn’t. You thought we ‘did it,’” Kaeleigh reminded her complete with air quotes.
“Nah, I didn’t really, I just wanted you to tell me what you really did do.” Metrí, apparently satisfied with her accomplishment, skipped—actually skipped—up to Ella with a big cheesy grin on her face.
Kaeleigh sighed and walked up to Finn with her arms wide open. Finn returned her embrace. “You all right?” he asked into her hair.
“Yeah, I just hate saying goodbye.” Kaeleigh’s eyes filled with tears. “Both of you are going to be gone. I’ve never been without even one of you for very long.” Tears started to flow down her face. “I mean I know this is what we need to do, I feel it is right in the very depths of me, but I still don’t want us to all be separated.”
Finn sighed and looked at Kaeleigh with soft eyes. “I know. I don’t like it either, but we need to do it. This is what we were meant to do and now we’re actually doing it.” Finn held her arms’ length away from himself so he could look into her eyes. “We are all going to be fine. You are going to do amazing things. I wish I could be there to see it, but Daegan will be with you.
“The point is... if it is right for us to be doing this, then Alandria will supply what we need. It doesn’t mean it will be easy or safe, but the greatest results never are.”
“I always know you’re right when you sound like Gandalf the Grey.” Kaeleigh wiped a tear and smiled.
“Excuse me, my friend, I am Gandalf the White,” Finn corrected her with mock seriousness.
“Gather the Twined, then find us again. We need them and we need you.” Kaeleigh couldn’t handle more than that and went to give Ella a quick goodbye. When she stood before Ella about to reach out to hug her, Ella did something Kaeleigh wasn’t expecting. She got down on one knee and bowed her head to Kaeleigh. Kaeleigh was shocked, but something in her was also humbled and accepting of the loyalty and honor that Ella had just bestowed on her. Kaeleigh reached down and placed her hand on Ella’s shoulder.
“Rise, Ella of Ehsmia.” Kaeleigh didn’t know where the words came from but she felt them so she went with it. Ella stood up and looked to Kaeleigh. “You honor me and you honor Ehsmia. Accomplish your mission and do not tarry in your return to your home.” Satisfied that Ella didn’t laugh at her, she then threw herself into Ella, wrapping her arms around her in a tight hug. Then she whispered into Ella’s ear, “Please take care of him. He needs you—I think he’s always been in love with you.”
When Kaeleigh pulled back, she saw shock and even a slight glimmer of hope in Ella’s eyes. Smiling, Kaeleigh stepped away and ran into the Great Hall. With every goodbye, she felt her heart tearing into even smaller pieces. Shivering with the cold reality of loneliness, she wrapped her arms around herself and sat at the table that faced the back wall of the large room. Oddly, there was no one else in the Great Hall at this time.
A few moments later, she felt him. Kaeleigh turned to find Daegan standing just inside the entrance. He was leaning with a casual grace against the wall next to the doorway. His arms were loosely crossed, accentuating the definition of his chest underneath a black loose-fitting linen shirt with a mostly open collar barely held together by two ties meeting in the middle. Daegan’s eyes lit with a fire only caused from a ravenous hunger.
“When you look at me like that, I feel I might lose control, Kaeleighnna,” he said, his voice rough and his eyes lit with desire. But he remained where he was against the wall and did not move closer to her.
“Would that be a bad thing, Daegan?”
“Not bad, but there are others matters we have to engage ourselves in. As much as I want you to myself, Alandria needs you and I will not take you until we have been pronounced properly.” His stare told her how serious he was, but the fire in his eyes expressed how much he desired her.
Feeling emboldened by his words, she slowly rose from where she sat and moved toward him with purpose, with intention. He simply watched her, his gaze taking in all of her. For the first time, she felt him looking at her, really looking at her not only as someone to watch over and someone to train, but as a woman. A woman he wanted as his own. The butterflies were swarming in her stomach, but she continued to move toward him. She was right in front of him, taunting him as she looked longingly into the deep set of his eyes.
“You are quite the vixen, are you? I have not seen this side of you before.” He quirked an eyebrow at her.
“You make me feel bold. You make me feel strong and secure.” She reached up with both of her hands and entangled a finger of each hand in the ties of his shirt. She gently tugged him down toward her. Looking into her eyes, he could not refuse her. She lifted up on her tiptoes then lightly kissed his full lips. They were soft and pliable. He placed his hands gently on her hips, letting her take the lead. After a moment of her feathered attentions, a growl rumbled from his chest. She took the bottom of his full lips and tugged lightly on it with her teeth before she giggled and turned her back to him as she walked back toward the table at the front of the Great Hall. She could hear his deep breaths behind her and gave herself a satisfied smile. She had not really ever been the “temptress” in a relationship before. Usually that was more Chel’s style, but something about Daegan’s rightness and honor made her want to break the rules with him and push him to his limits.
“Elder,” Daegan quickly acknowledged as Arileas entered the Great Hall.
“Daegan. Kaeleighnna. I am glad you are both here. I hope I am not intruding on anything, but I wanted to see you and say goodbye. Is there anything you wish to discuss before you journey to Exhile?”
Kaeleigh was grateful her back was to both men. She was embarrassed that the Elder almost walked in on her taking advantage of her warrior—her warrior!—and didn’t want him to see her face flushed. It was still very surreal that Daegan wanted to be with her.
“Kaeleighnna? What do you see in that image?” the Elder asked sincerely as he came to stand beside her with Daegan following on his other side.
She cocked her head as she looked at the mural that had been imposed onto the back wall. It was an extremely large painting that covered almost the entire wall. She had looked at it before during meals and meetings when they had been in the Great Hall, but today it shone like it was standing out for her—calling to her. “I’m not sure yet, but it is drawing me in, asking me to see it. I just am not quite sure what I’m suppose to—”
Kaeleigh gasped then ran up as close as she could get and still see the entire image. To other eyes that looked upon the image, they would see layer upon layer of the evolution of Alandria. All the territories and races were accounted for. It was like a collage of all your friends and family and favorite pictures all arranged in some kind of way that either made sense to the artist or was simply haphazardly placed to fit like puzzle pieces forced together. But when Kaeleigh looked at it with even the slightest release of her magic to see beyond the paint, she saw each layer three dimensionally, like looking into a funnel of time and history. After layer upon layer of beauty then destruction, peace then turmoil, incredible color then shades of darkness, and at the epicenter was an image of desolation and barrenness. And there in the midst of it all, she stood, a blazing light around her and the shadows of who she recognized as the Orchids. It was what she imagined Exhile to look like.
The pictures then swirled, pulling her to follow its lead. Pulled in without leaving her place in the Great Hall, she moved through still images of beings either in various acts of battle and devastation or through the fields and valleys of color and abundant life and beauty. She took a deep breath and leaned forward, touching the wall. Kaeleigh became one with the art and suddenly everything sprung to a life of its own. Battles commenced as if she were really there. This one in the past. The valley she had been in, she recognized as the one they had traveled through after leaving Hunter’s house. Then she saw him; Hunter was outside his house right before he died at the hand of Maleina then transformed into the rare white bird. It looked directly at her as if he knew where she was before he took to the sky. Her image swirled around and pulled her into the realm of Exhile she had seen herself in before. She could feel the magic needed there, could feel the desperation of the Orchids, could feel how she needed to set them free.
Then she had to grip her stomach for fear of losing its contents as she was ripped from that image into another battle. This battle she had not seen before, but somehow knew it was one they had yet to fight. Then she recognized face after face, people—beings—she either knew or had seen before... her friends... Chel, Hal, Finn, Daegan... and many others. Her heart was gripped with the horror and turmoil of what battle could look like up close and personal.
Her stomach rolled again. Then she followed the pull of the image to where she was face to face with herself. She watched herself fight with not only her sword, but also magic she hadn’t yet realized she possessed. The scene was horrific. Beings filled with darkness, beings believing they were fighting for what was right, beings filled with light and goodness all scattered about the field. War did not discriminate—casualties littered the ground for both the dark and the light. Kaeleigh took a moment to be grateful that the scene she saw, she now realized, was in black and white and shades of gray. Her stomach couldn’t take seeing it in living color. It was bad enough. The face she fought belonged to Maleina. It did not surprise her, but the other images flickering in and out did. There was also the face of another woman—a dark and vile woman with jet black hair and eyes of fire. Then it was Maleina out of control and encased by serpents and a fog of darkness. Kaeleigh saw her sword glow as the image seemed to be trying to show her something important. The field lit with a light so blinding, it threw Kaeleigh out of the picture and she flew back into the table in the Great Hall she had started at.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
Panting and trying to regain her breath, Kaeleigh gripped her head with both hands. She could feel Daegan’s hands on her.
“Kaeleigh!” Metrí shouted as she ran through the Great Hall, having just entered.
“Are you all right?” Daegan asked as he stroked his hand down the back of her head offering a touch of peace.
“I think so. My head just hurts,” Kaeleigh said, still clutching her head with one hand. Metrí rushed up next to her, not sure what to do, but there just the same. She tried to get up on her own, but both Metrí and Daegan grabbed an arm on either side and helped steady her. Arileas was surprisingly quiet. They all looked up to him, but he was lost in a vision, his eyes glazed over almost to the point of whiteness. His body was rigid and tense.
Kaeleigh turned to Daegan. “Can you tell what he is seeing?”
“No, for some reason when he goes into a vision it is like he is untouchable. I can only get vague senses.” Daegan stared at the Elder, making another attempt at reading his emotions. Suddenly Daegan’s head snapped toward the doorway and his eyes narrowed. “Something is wrong...”
“Danger,” both Daegan and Arileas uttered at the same ominous time just as Arileas came out of his vision.
“Freaky,” muttered Metrí under her breath.
Kaeleigh agreed. “What?!” she asked, trying not to panic. “What is it?”
“It seems you are going to have to leave sooner than you planned. Maleina. She is in the forest.” Arileas took off, still in a slight daze. They all followed him as he shouted commands and orders to various Faeries they passed.
“Metrí, run and get my pack from the room, please,” Kaeleigh requested and the young girl nodded and took off without question.
“Meet me by the entrance. Do not go through that tunnel without me,” Daegan issued as a command and a plea at the same time. He took off toward the training area. Kaeleigh could only guess he went for more weapons, even though he was never without all of his.
Kaeleigh continued to follow closely behind Arileas. She didn’t realize that the old man could still move so fast. He was driven and completely in charge and everyone obeyed his command. Then she realized that he had extreme motivation as well: Ella. She and Finn had left not that long before. Kaeleigh’s steps picked up and she came up beside the Elder. “What can I do?”
“Ella sent me the vision. Prepare yourself. For now is a time to fight. I do not know what she has intended, but she has brought the fight to our door and invoked the wrath of the Dryads by involving the trees of this forest,” he ground out.
“The trees?”
“She is burning the forest, flushing us out, I am sure. We are purposely walking out into a trap.” His voice was weighty, but filled with confidence. He knew what he was doing and they were prepared for whatever came to their doorstep. It was why the Ehsmia had been able to stay the “hidden people” for so long.
Daegan had come up behind them and began issuing his orders, instructing the warriors around them what he knew of Maleina’s capabilities, which he realized he did not know near as much as he would like when facing an enemy, even an enemy he had grown up with. Her duplicity kept him from understanding her twisted ways.
Kaeleigh slid her hand into Daegan’s strong masculine hand, taking comfort in being close to him. “What did you go back for?”
“A weapon,” he said with a glint in his eyes and a smirk on his mouth.
Kaeleigh questioned him with her face, but he didn’t give her any more than that. He squeezed her hand and tugged her along by his side. She had to move fast to keep up with his longer strides. Metrí ran up beside Kaeleigh and handed her the satchel she had prepacked. One of the cooks in the kitchen had packed all of their bags with provisions that very morning, not realizing it was only supposed to be Ella and Finn departing—or perhaps she had known they would all be leaving. Kaeleigh was always surprised at the different types of magic each had and their gifting that went along with it. She was learning not to question too many things anymore.
“We go out in small groups. Blend into the shadows. Assess the situation and surround the enemy. Two of our own might be out there. Keep eyes out for them.” With that last instruction from Arileas, they did exactly that. He held Daegan, Kaeleigh, and Metrí back by him. “Let them get in position. We do not know what we face,” he instructed.
“I do not stay in the back, Elder. I fight at the front of my men,” Daegan said with clenched teeth. It was heavy upon him that he was not out there.
“I understand, but you are in a slightly different position this time,” Arileas said, nodding not only to Kaeleigh but also Metrí. Daegan nodded. “It is imperative that your mission not be compromised. This time you must stay to the outside, prepared to get to the portal that will take you to the mortal realm.”
“I was not aware there was a portal to the mortal realm in this region of Alandria,” Daegan said.
“And for good reason. We prefer to keep it that way. You will still have to journey to find it. It is in the valley beyond the Kandri Mountain, past the village of Klavaí and beyond the reaches of the known parts of Alandria. It will be a challenge. Follow your instincts, Daegan, they will show you the way. The path has been imprinted on your soul by your grandmother should you ever need it.”
Daegan looked to the roof of the tunnel lit only by a few torches. He quickly remembered standing in that very spot with Kaeleigh not that long ago... in the dark. Then he quashed those thoughts
quickly, replacing them with thoughts of his grandmother who earlier that day had already said her goodbye. She knew something would take him away sooner than she had planned. When she had hugged him she whispered words that he remembered her whispering when he was young, but this time instead of taking away pieces of his memory, they revealed more than he was prepared for.
“Then that is where we will go,” Daegan resolved.
Arileas put his hand to the dirt-covered tunnel wall, whispering ancient words to conceal and guide as they went. Each of them placed their hands against the wall as they took a step forward and stepped into the dirt wall that shimmered, becoming a transparent veil to walk through.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
As Kaeleigh stepped through the veil and outside of the mountain, she noticed the sky was gray and ominous. It was the first time she had been back out in days and when she took a deep first breath, she almost choked on the bitter air. They could see the smoke. It was right along the path that Finn and Ella were to take back to the portal into Tylínyth. They had been ambushed right near the portal.
Those exiting the veil were still a ways away from what seemed to be the center of destruction, but it stung her eyes and they instantly watered. Her teeth were gritty and her tongue dry. It was what she imagined it would be like to eat charcoal. Her stomach roiled at the stench of it. It wouldn’t be so bad if it had smelled like a giant campfire. Most people like the smell of campfires, but this... this was so much worse. It smelled like death. A screech rent the sky. Kaeleigh threw her hands over her ears and almost crumpled to the ground as her knees buckled.
Daegan reached for her, hauling her to his side, his strength supporting her as they moved swiftly to the side to allow for the others to come through the veil. They all coughed and pulled their clothes or hands or whatever was available up over their mouths to not breathe the thick air. The sounds coming from the forest surrounding the mountain were unbearable. The pain, the terror, the destruction... Kaeleigh couldn’t take it. She pulled against Daegan. He looked down at her with question, but instantly his face changed to one of resolve.
