by Ella Frank
“I’m okay,” she tried to reassure.
Rhiannon walked into the room and stopped behind one of the chairs. Her long, red skirt swirled around her ankles and her loose, purple shirt, which laced at the front, hung from one of her shoulders. Her blond hair, which was half up and half down, was braided on the sides with flowers woven through it.
The girls always told her that she looked like a hippie, but Maeve knew better. This was the way Rhiannon had always preferred to dress, even back in Arcania. Always a child of nature, she’d been a true balance between the people and the land.
A healer. A naturalist.
“This is always a hard time for you, but I know this year has to be even more so.”
Maeve reached up to brush a tear from her cheek. “I just wish… Well, there’s no point in what I wish. It can never be, so it’s better to just pretend it never happened in the first place.”
Rhiannon made her way around the table and stopped in front of her. “Remember when we first got here and you kept asking me, ‘Why would he send you too?’”
“Yes.” Maeve nodded. “I couldn’t believe it when I woke up and you were right there next to me. I hadn’t seen you for months, and then…there you were.”
Rhiannon took her hands and whispered, “There has to be a reason for it then, yes? He never did anything without a reason. We all know that. And the fact that I can’t remember anything between the ceremony and waking here? I have to believe there is more to it.”
Maeve reached out and ran her fingers down her sister’s hair before taking her hands. She was the one familiar face from the past that had been her rock throughout this new journey.
“I only remember what I told you. He said to both Lach’Lan and me that this was the only way we would survive.”
Rhiannon frowned and then asked, “We as in you and the girls?”
“Of course. What else could it mean?”
Rhiannon let go of her hands and walked over to the window, which faced the river Maeve’s house backed onto. “Nothing, I suppose. I always hope there is another meaning, something hidden that we missed, but I never find it.” She turned back to Maeve and rested against the windowsill. “If the reason we were brought here was for your girls to survive, then we succeeded. Your daughters are smart young women, Maeve, and today, they reach their twenty-fifth year with nothing to worry about except getting to their mother’s house on time.”
Rhiannon gave Maeve such a warm smile she couldn’t help but return it.
They’d both aged considerably since waking here, but they had still managed to look remarkably young for their years. No one ever believed the girls when they told people that their mother was fifty. A blessing and a curse of Arcania.
If she were still there, she wouldn’t look a day over her twenty-five years.
It was one of the many differences between the pure blood of the Imperial Family and the commoners of the land. They aged at an exponentially slower rate, while a commoner, the same as the people here in Wilmington, aged much faster.
“Let’s not worry about things we can’t change, sister,” Rhiannon said and walked back over to take her hand. “Let’s get the roast in the oven and some wine in a glass. The girls are due in a couple of hours, and I know you want everything perfect for when they get here.”
Maeve let her sister lead her back into the kitchen and tried to push aside the gnawing feeling in her gut that, just like all those years ago, today was going to be one that forever changed their lives.
* * *
“Come on, Naeve. You’re not going to melt. It’s just a bit of rain.”
Naeve stared at her sisters where they huddled together under a large, purple canopy. An hour earlier, Fiona and Audra had arrived on their doorstep and informed them that there was no way that she and Siobhan were ditching their birthday tradition.
Every year, the four of them tracked down a fortuneteller and had their futures told. Apparently, their twenty-fourth birthday was not going to be the end of that tradition.
Tales of Futures Past.
This was exactly the kind of place they expected her to embrace, but honestly, it was the last place she wanted to go—tarot readings gave her the creeps.
“Quick, before it starts up heavy again!” Fiona called from across the street.
The fat drops of water that were hitting the canvas roof had her hesitating. She really didn’t want to get her new Prada boots caked full of mud.
“Naeve, hurry up!”
Once she’d pulled her jacket off, she held it over her head and looked both ways before dashing across the street. She understood the infatuation with these types of things. What she didn’t understand was why anyone would want to know his or her future.
What if it was bad? There was no way of unhearing that. No, she’d much rather leave it up to faith and hope. Maybe then she’d get a positive outcome.
Dodging a large puddle, she skipped over it and up onto the wooden platform that housed the tarot shop.
“Okay. I’m here.”
After shaking out her leather jacket, she shrugged back into it and slid her fingers behind her ears, pushing the wet ropes of blond hair over her shoulders.
“Sure. Laugh it up now,” she told her giggling sisters, trying not to be annoyed that, after an hour of working to make herself look decent, she was now soaked to the bone. “Just don’t pout and be jealous when she tells me how wonderful my life will be.”
Fiona gave a nod and then told her tongue in cheek, “Yes, it seems wonderful so far. Maybe if you’d crossed the road with us earlier, you wouldn’t resemble a drowned rat.”
Naeve felt her lips twitch and relented, unable to stay irritated for long. “Oh well, it was muggy anyway. Now, I’m nice and cool. Plus, you’ve always been the one with good judgment, not me.”
“I’m just saying you should trust me next time. Now, you’re a mess, while the rest of us are not.”
“Well, if you’re going down the know-it-all road…if I’d stayed over there, I’d be nice and dry—”
A loud boom cut off her words as the awning on the opposite side of the road collapsed and dumped water all over the sidewalk. Right where she’d been standing.
Looking back at Fiona, she shook her head. “Don’t say a word.”
Fiona didn’t speak, but when her other two sisters busted out laughing, she and Naeve joined in as Naeve held the door open and waited for her sisters to pass by.
When Fiona reached her, she whispered, “This one’s for Audra, remember? We said last night we would hold her hand until she felt better, so just go with it, would you?”
She nodded. Fiona was right. Audra was the only reason she’d capitulated and crossed the street. They’d found out last night—after several shots of tequila, a round of kamikazes, and, oh yeah, a redheaded slut for Siobhan—that her ex-boyfriend had broken her heart that morning.
So Audra had decided that their birthday was a great reason to drink her broken heart into healing, which it had not done, and made each of them swear to go to their tarot reading as always. It was the only way she would be able to move on—or so they’d been told. Knowing that he would get what he deserved—justice.
So there they were, the Brannigan sisters, about to have their futures told.
As Naeve let the door close behind them, the room was engulfed by darkness, and the four of them stepped a little closer to one another. She might have been the only one to express her dislike for these things, but it was clear she wasn’t the only one doubting their decision now that they were inside.
Their mother had forbidden these places when they were young, explaining that a lot of these people were con artists—in it just to steal your money and brainwash you into thinking what they wanted you to. She’d always told them that they were in control of their destiny and no one should ever tell them which direction they should go.
“Have faith that what is meant to be will be.”
But what if you lo
st direction? Were you really supposed to trust these strangers to help you find it again?
Psychics, fortunetellers, tarot readings—they gave her the creeps.
“Welcome, ladies.”
The voice that filled the space they were huddled in was hypnotic and somewhat familiar, but as Naeve looked over to the woman standing behind the small, glass counter that had stones, cards, beads and other trinkets, she realized that it was no one they knew.
As usual, Siobhan stepped to the front of the group and stared the woman down, and Naeve was struck by the intensity of the woman’s reciprocal look.
Her eyes were crystalline blue and her hair jet black. It was waving in thick curls down her slender shoulders, and draped over her head was a pale-blue veil. Holding it in place was an ornate circlet of silver that lay in a V on her forehead, and in the center of it was a jewel the same color as her eyes.
“Welcome to Tales of Futures Past.”
Naeve barely resisted the urge to scoff as Siobhan continued to check out the woman in front of them.
“Who’s here for a reading?”
Audra was about to step forward when Siobhan announced, “We all are.”
“Wonderful.” That silky voice floated through the room again. “Come with me.”
Naeve’s first instinct was to go nowhere—not with that woman. But when Audra tugged on her hand, she really had no other option. The five of them walked through to a back room, and that’s when she saw a round table in the center with a deck of cards.
“Please have a seat, ladies.”
As each of her sisters picked a spot, Naeve scanned the area. It’s always important to have an escape route—that’s what their mother had taught them.
There were half-melted candles lit, throwing shadows on the draped curtains surrounding them, and the incense burning was musky and sweet—all adding to the vibe of the room. Hanging on the walls were several painted images of castles, forests and lakes, which were intricate and beautiful and caught her attention.
“Naeve, won’t you sit?”
She looked across to the stranger in the room and noticed that her eyes, which had been blue, now appeared…black.
Then Audra whispered, “How cool. She knows your name.”
Is it cool? She didn’t remember mentioning it, and she didn’t remember her sisters saying it once they’d stepped inside.
“Please. Take a seat,” the woman repeated with a little more force this time. “And we shall begin.”
Moving behind the empty chair, Naeve pulled it out to sit. Just as she did, she looked over to see Siobhan watching her with troubled eyes. Something about this didn’t feel right, and she wasn’t the only one who sensed it. But before she could say anything, the woman started to speak.
“Close your eyes and hear my tale. Let us see who you are. And as the sun rises in the East, you’ll have traveled very far…”
Arcania
Present…
Green.
That was all she could see.
Varying shades of deep, dark green.
As a light breeze brushed across her cheek, Naeve fully opened her eyes.
Trying to orient herself, she pressed her hands to the ground and felt the cool, wet grass under her palms. She pushed up from the solid surface and shook her head, dazed and confused. Disoriented, she looked around, but all she could see were trees.
Miles and miles of giant, thick-trunked trees.
Where the… Where am I?
She gathered her legs under her and quickly got to her feet. Looking down at her white summer dress and boots, she saw a mossy carpet covered with fallen leaves and started to feel her chest tighten with anxiety. The roar of her own blood rushing around her ears was all she could hear as she tried to understand how she’d wound up standing in the middle of a forest.
The breeze that had first pulled her from her sleep whispered through the branches, and this time, it trailed across the back of her neck. It sent a chill racing down her spine as she turned on the ball of her foot to follow where it seemed to go, and that’s when she spotted her.
There, lying in amongst the tall grass, was Audra.
Racing over to her, Naeve heard the crunch of the leaves under her boots. She was relieved to see one of her sisters. When she reached her side, she knelt down and touched her shoulder.
“Audra. Audra, wake up.” She shook her gently and waited for her eyes to open. When nothing happened, she tried again. “Audra, come on. Wake up.”
After Audra made a soft groan, her lashes fluttered against her cheeks. As her sister’s eyes opened, Naeve looked around, trying to find the others. When no one else came into view, she turned back to see Audra sitting.
She was still dressed in her jeans and red tank—the same outfit from earlier when…
When we were sitting in a freaking tarot shop. Jesus. Were we drugged? It was possible. But why? And why leave us here?
“Naeve?” Audra’s soft voice penetrated her thoughts. “Naeve? Where are we?”
“I don’t know,” she barely managed.
Audra looked around at their surroundings, and Naeve knew that, just like her, all she would see were the rows of towering trees. Maybe this was some kind of horrible nightmare after having had too much to drink, and any moment now, she’d wake up.
“The others?” Audra asked.
“I don’t know.”
“What time is it?”
Naeve looked down at her gold watch and saw that the hands had stopped moving, but the time read four thirty. Approximately the same time they’d been at the tarot reading. Distracted by that discovery, she didn’t answer.
“How did we get here?”
Snapping her head up, Naeve pinned her inquisitive sister with an exasperated look. “I. Don’t. Know.” She stood and threw her hands up, frustrated. “I don’t know!”
“Okay,” Audra conceded, standing up beside her. “Calm down.”
“Calm down? We’re in the middle of nowhere, and I have no clue how we got here.”
“Well, there has to be some kind of logical explanation, right?”
“Like?”
“Umm—” Audra started.
“I mean, how did this happen? And where are the other two? God, this place is creepy.”
Audra looked at the dark shadows the trees cast and agreed. “It is kind of creepy. But maybe it’s just the way the sun is setting behind the trees.”
“I can’t even see the sun—as if it even matters. This doesn’t look like anywhere in Wilmington. It looks more like Sleepy Hollow.”
As the words left her mouth, a loud, shrill noise pierced the air.
Naeve wasn’t sure if it was a natural survival instinct or some kind of inner one, but she immediately looked to Audra and jerked her head as if to say, Get down. Now.
They both fell to the ground, covering their ears, and burrowed into the long tangle of grass as the ear-splintering cry continued to echo throughout the damp air.
It was like nothing she’d ever heard before—almost otherworldly. The high pitch and volume alone had her drawing her knees into her body in a protective move, which Audra mirrored. She reached across to take her sister’s hand and felt her own shake.
We’re going to die here.
Her heart was pounding so hard inside her chest that she started thinking that whatever it was, whatever was making that sound, would hear and come for them.
She didn’t know anything about the wilderness. Their mother and aunt had never taken them camping as children. But as she lay there with her cheek pressed to the ground and Audra’s eyes focused on her, Naeve kind of wished they had.
There was a cracking sound directly behind her and she flinched, feeling her entire body tense. Audra’s eyes widened as she stared beyond her shoulder, and Naeve bit down on her lip, trying not to let out a terrified sob. She knew that whatever was there couldn’t be good. Maybe it was a wolf, a bear—hell, she didn’t know.
What she hadn�
��t expected was a hand on her shoulder.
* * *
“He found them.”
Those three words were exactly what he’d been waiting to hear.
Li’Am turned away from the West window in the Great Hall and aimed an expectant look toward his head guardsman, Ry’Ker. He stood front and center of the Imperial Guard, a battalion of mortal men who’d been trained to protect Castle L’Mere and their Commander against any outside threat.
“And where, pray tell, did he find them?”
The fully armored soldier stepped forward and informed him with unwavering confidence, “Exactly where she told us they would be.”
“Of course they were,” Li’Am acknowledged. Then he turned his back on the man. “She will be pleased.”
He surveyed the wide expanse of land below and felt the ever-present anger at its destruction swell inside him. As far as the eye could see, Arcania was diseased, and every day, that illness spread, stemming from the cause—his sister Seraphine, the crowned Empress of Arcania.
“Has he made contact as of yet?”
“Not that I am aware of.”
Li’Am placed his hands on the cool stone of the window and pressed his fingertips into it. Without looking back, he ordered, “Then don’t return until he does. Do I make myself clear?”
Several pairs of booted feet pulled together behind him, bringing the guardsmen to attention as they chorused, “Yes, Commander.”
They then spun on their feet and exited the Hall, but before Ry’Ker could join his men, Li’Am called him to a halt.
“It is time.”
He could hear Ry’Ker’s boots as his head guard moved closer.
“Sir?”
Li’Am looked over his shoulder at the man he’d raised as his own son. Dropping formalities, he lowered his voice and stated softly, “Ry, it’s time. We’ve followed her rules for far too long now. This is the time we’ve been waiting for. The time I told you of.”
