by Casey Odell
He stepped back and Claire’s arms fell to her sides. Already she could feel the worry settle in with an underlying hint of panic. She was tired of people she cared about leaving her, never to be seen again. Or at least that’s what it felt like. It was the unknown that scared her the most.
His grin slipped into place, full of the overconfidence she’d grown so used to. “Try to behave, Claire.”
“Just go!” she shouted, crossing her arms.
He gave her one last lingering look before he slipped out of the door, closing it behind him with a soft click.
She remained standing on the trunk, mulling the thought over. Already her throat felt tight. Tears threatened to stream down her cheeks. Even though she wanted to beat him senseless, she ultimately came to the conclusion, that yes, she would miss the damn elf. But, at least now she knew when to take him up on his offer to beat him up. When— or if— he returned, he had the beating of a lifetime to look forward to.
After a sleepless night, Claire found herself face to face with a heavy wooden door, hand raised, ready to knock. But she didn’t. She stood in a daze, trying to think of what exactly to say.
The same white wrap around dress draped her small frame, and her brown hair hung loose around her shoulders in soft waves. Although she didn’t feel the need to impress Lianna, she at least had to make herself a bit more presentable, if only in an attempt not to feel so inferior next to the woman.
Nervousness wrung her stomach into tight knots. Why should she be nervous? Lianna didn’t seem to hate her. Besides, it wasn’t her fault he had run away and left Lianna there. Whatever their past, Claire had nothing to do with it. Besides, it seemed she had moved on anyway, becoming the mistress of the King and all.
Claire took a deep breath, but before she could bring her hand down on the wood, the door swung open.
“Just how long are you going to stand there?” Lianna stood in front of her, holding the door. A tiny slip of a nightgown showed underneath an open silk robe, crimson and flowing down to the floor. Her blonde hair hung around her face in soft ringlets.
Claire’s jaw hung down, no words coming to mind except, “How did…?”
“I could sense you there for the past five minutes.”
“Oh.” Claire could feel the heat rise to her cheeks and she looked away.
“Well, come in then.” Lianna turned and strolled deeper into her room.
Not surprisingly, everything was as elegant and lavish as she’d expected it to be. Lush rugs covered the marble floors, paintings of flowers and landscapes hung on the walls. Claire stepped into a smaller room that served as a seating area, with red seats much like the ones in her own bedchamber, and a table with fresh flowers, probably from Lianna’s just as wondrous garden. She followed her through an archway that led to the bedroom, framed by heavy burgundy curtains. Unexpectedly dim, the only windows were on each side of the bed, stretching from floor to ceiling and overlaid with the same latticework found in many of the other Elvin structures she’d come across in her travels. The bed was a large four-poster and even had its own canopy, decorated in rich, deep purples, reds, and golds, like the rest of the apartment.
Lianna sat at a vanity at the side of the room and busied herself in the mirror, her hands playing with the curls around her face. “To what do I owe this visit?”
Claire stepped towards Lianna. “I… I have some questions, is all.” She took another step closer, her hands clasped in front of her.
Lianna turned on the bench suddenly, her eyes going wide. She held a hand up in front of her. “Stop there.”
Shocked, Claire did precisely that. Had she overstepped her boundaries?
Lianna stood, eyebrows knitted together. “What have you done?”
Claire flushed. “What do you mean?”
“Your powers. They are… different. Troubling.”
Claire twisted her hands together in front of her. There was something about this woman that made her feel nervous. She could read her too easily. Would she be able to peer inside her head as well? The fact that Lianna had already said that her powers were troubling was, well, troubling to say the least. “That’s part of the reason I came to you. Is this a bad time?” She nodded toward the vanity.
“Oh, no.” Lianna shook her head slightly as if to collect herself. Her hands flitted down her robe and she closed it around her. “Not at all.”
Something changed in the other woman’s demeanor, softening up. Maybe she had expected something else, a different reason for her visit. Claire could hardly blame her.
Lianna ushered Claire back into the antechamber. She pulled a cord next to the door, then sat on one of the seats.
“Sit, sit.” Lianna motioned with her hands to the chair next to her.
Hesitantly, Claire sat, hands in her lap.
“So tell me, mien anaire, have you finally found your powers?”
“Yes, well, sort of.” Claire twisted her fingers together. “Razi did, but ever since he—”
“Wait, do you mean—?” A shocked expression took over Lianna’s fine features. “You actually let him do that to you? Did it work?”
After a moment, Claire nodded. “Yes, but afterward, pain engulfs my body. And I get nightmares, too. I wouldn’t have thought they were linked, but ever since Razi did that— found my powers— they’ve been getting worse. Was it like that for you, when you first started to use yours?”
“No.” Lianna shook her head. “I am afraid not. Let me see your arm. Do not worry, I will not do what Razi has done. Though I must say, I am surprised it worked.”
“You know how to do that, enter someone’s mind?” She held her right arm out.
A sly grin reached Lianna’s perfect lips. “Of course, who do you think taught him? However, it only works on our own kind. I suppose for the same reason we can sense each other.”
Carefully, Lianna took Claire’s wrist in her hands, almost as if she were afraid to touch it. The same calming wave washed over her the moment Lianna’s skin touched hers. Claire slumped a little, feeling the sudden urge to curl up and sleep right then and there on the chair. With Farron gone, as expected, centaurs and giant felines plagued her dreams, leaving her tired and worn the next morning.
“The tendrils, they’re longer,” Claire said, her eyes following along with Lianna’s fingers as they lightly traced along the design. “They usually end before the scar does, but now they grow past it, and stay there. Even when the glow has been gone for hours.” She eyed Lianna anxiously. “Does yours? Grow, I mean.”
Lianna shook her head, closing her eyes.
Claire remained quiet, letting Lianna concentrate. On what, she wasn’t sure. She waited nervously for the sharp pain that always came when Razi had entered her mind, like a brief and sudden headache. Even though Lianna had said she wouldn’t rummage around in her head, she could hardly blame her if she did. She knew she would if given the chance, mainly out of pure curiosity. At least, that’s what she kept telling herself…
After several moments, Lianna opened her eyes, her breath a little ragged. “Claire,” she said softly, and already Claire knew she wasn’t going to like what she had to say, “Your mark, the spell, has been disrupted. Damaged by this.” She ran a finger down her scar. “When you try to use your powers, it aggravates it. That could be why you feel such pain.”
“What?” she asked, her voice breathy. Her skin grew cold at the thought. “What does that mean, that it’s damaged?”
“I’m not really sure myself. I have not had too much experience with our kind, I am afraid. And yours is the first one I have seen… like this.” Her gaze fell to Claire’s arm. “Claire, even though the spell is a part of us, it is still separate. I do not know how to explain this, but it is the reason that it used you when you faced the Roain. It came alive to protect you. Usually, we are able to tap into that power and train to use it.”
“But I can’t.” Her voice fell along with her hopes. Did that mean that she would never be able
to use her powers like the other two?
“I am sorry, Claire. I think that when Razi tried to find your powers, he only made it worse. He did not mean to, I am sure. Please do not blame him.”
“I don’t.” She took a deep breath to calm herself. “If anything, I blame the one who gave me this scar.” Yet another wonderful gift the General had left her with, and another reason to hate him all the more. “Do you know what’s going to happen to me?”
“I am not sure, my dear.” Lianna released her arm and leaned back in her seat. “It is possible that it could consume you, drive you mad, or leave you but an empty shell. Or it is possible that nothing at all will happen. Only time will tell. But I will not lie, judging by the way you look, the way you feel, it does not look good.”
Claire collapsed back in her seat, letting her arm fall limp in her lap, not wanting to look at the mark and the General’s damage anymore. How had it come to this? Just a few short months ago she was living a peaceful life. Now she’d seen and been through enough grief to last her a lifetime, however short that may be.
She let that last part sink in. Her breath caught in her throat. She wasn’t sure she grasped the entire situation yet, but for some reason, she was a little bit too calm about the possibility of her life ending before she’d planned. Maybe it was all the close calls she’d already had. Or maybe it just seemed too unreal to be true. A magic mark, eating her up? That sounded ridiculous just thinking about it.
Claire shook the thoughts from her head and took a deep breath. One thing at a time. Even if she didn’t have much time left, she still had a mission: to find her mother.
There was a soft knock at the door and a moment later an elderly woman entered, dressed in a plain yellow dress with a white apron covering the front of her body. She didn’t say anything, just curtsied before wheeling in a cart filled with tea and small cakes.
Claire eyed the cart in wonder. If she would have known that she could get a cart full of treats delivered right to her room, she would have done so long ago. And every night since. Though it would be tough to keep her figure with that kind of daily indulgence…
The maid served them both tea, each saying their thanks in turn, and then she was gone, quietly closing the door behind her on the way out.
They sat in silence for a while. Claire sipped the hot sweet tea, her attention wandering over the cakes, trying to decide if she wanted the pink frosted one or the one with the blue berries on top first.
“He left, didn’t he?” Lianna asked suddenly, breaking the silence.
Claire jumped slightly and looked at the other woman. She wore a sad expression, almost pitying. “Yesterday,” she answered. “And good riddance.” She was still angry at the damn elf.
Lianna smiled as she studied Claire. “I’m sure you are curious. About us.”
Claire looked down at her teacup, so delicate and elegant, as she set it down on the small table in front of them. “Maybe a little. But I would not blame you if you don’t want to talk about it.”
“Do not worry.” Lianna shrugged her shoulders as she leaned forward to take a bite of a cake, one of the pink frosted ones. “It is in the past, what we had.”
“So, you don’t hate him?”
“No,” she said and nostalgia took over her eyes. “Maybe I did at first, but I can’t blame him. I would have done the same thing if given the chance to start a new life. In fact, I did.”
Claire’s attention snapped back to Lianna. “You did?”
“Yes,” she replied, her voice taking on a softer quality. “I ran away from my home, much in the same way he did. Only with him, not without.” She looked at Claire then. “Do you want to hear this?”
Without really thinking about it, she nodded. She was too curious to say no.
“I come from a wealthy family, in Solaniki, a city on the southwestern coast. That is where I met him, for the first time. He was disguised as a diplomat, though I didn’t know it was a deception at the time. He was the most exotic thing I had ever seen, that anyone had ever seen, really. Elves are even rarer in the south. He was an arrogant young thing back then.”
“I can only imagine…” Claire shivered at the thought. She couldn’t imagine him being any more arrogant than he was now.
“That night, when I first met him, we were at a ball. One of the many my family used to put on during the year. I had just stepped out for a breath of fresh air, after dancing all evening, when I was confronted by a group of men. He saved me, not that I needed it, mind you.” She looked at Claire, eyebrow raised boldly. “That’s when my mark showed up. We started seeing each other then, casually at first, then more and more. Eventually, he told me his secret, but by then I didn’t care. I could tell even then how badly he wanted out. When his job was done, he offered to take me away, to the palace. By then, my family was facing financial troubles and was looking to marry me off to the highest bidder. So, I took him up on his offer and ran away, to start a new life, what he wanted so desperately to do but couldn’t.”
“Why did you come back here? Why not run away somewhere else?” Claire asked, confused.
“I suppose we could have, but he felt he was in too deep. And although he would never admit it, he cares for his brother, the King. I guess maybe he felt that if I was here at least, maybe it wouldn’t have been so bad.” Lianna took a sip from her tea, her expression turning somber. “But really, it’s my fault that he left. I was the one who left him, even after all that he did for me. His Highness and the Council found out about my powers… Like I told you, I am a prisoner of my own choosing. It was my choice to stay here and become the King’s mistress.”
“Why?”
Lianna shrugged. “I could have run away with him. I guess I would have if I truly loved him. In the end, I suppose I was just looking for an escape myself, from my life. Besides, what is a life that is always on the run, always looking over your shoulder?”
“I suppose.” Claire looked down at her hands. She had once chosen to run away with someone she thought she loved, or could love, and risked living such a life. To her, it seemed worth it— at least then it had. Now, however, it just seemed tiring.
“Besides,” Lianna continued. She motioned with her hands to the room around her. “This life isn’t so bad. I live in the palace and my family gets their riches back. However, it’s up to them to regain their honor…” She gave Claire a sad smile. “A daughter’s duty, right?”
Not knowing what to say to that, Claire nodded. She vaguely remembered saying something along the same lines back when she was still trying to pass as a lady and was betrothed to her make-believe husband.
“He’s still punishing himself,” Lianna said. “Still trying to make up for the things he’s done. I can tell. He’s changed since I last saw him, more careful, a little more suspicious than he used to be. Softer…” She looked at Claire. “Sometimes it hurts to see him with you. I think if that Farron were to court me now, maybe I really could fall in love with him.”
Claire froze in her seat, back straight. She was sure she wasn’t able to keep the surprise off her face.
Lianna chuckled, a rich sultry sound. “Do not worry, my dear. He would not have me even if I wanted it.” Her laughter faded. “Just the fact that he came back here, I think he’d go to the ends of the world for you.”
The heat of embarrassment rushed up to Claire’s cheeks.
“In fact, I think that is exactly what he means to do.”
“What do you mean?” Claire eyed Lianna curiously.
“Mien anaire, I have been in the palace and dealt with those old men long enough to know their true intentions. I do not think they like the idea that he is getting close to you, you who have not chosen an allegiance yet. Whatever the Council had to offer him, I doubt they aim to honor it.”
Claire gulped, her mouth feeling suddenly dry. “Then what do they want?”
“To get rid of him,” Lianna replied with the kind of elegant frankness only she was capable of.
Claire was quiet as she let yet another truth sink in. It felt like another weight had just been placed upon her shoulders, already heavy with so many other burdens.
“Though, I suspect he knows this as well.”
“Lord Hyndor, he is a councilman, isn’t he?”
Lianna nodded. “And a shrewd one at that. He is a northern man. A wealthy man. Why do you ask?”
“Because Farron was summoned by him before he left.”
“Then there is no doubt that the Council has already made its move. He didn’t tell you this before he left?”
Claire just shook her head, annoyance over the elf rearing its ugly head again.
“I suppose I am not surprised. He never was an expressive one.”
“He did say something,” she said, the memory surfacing suddenly, though hazy and heard half-asleep. “In the library, after he met with Lord Hyndor, he whispered something to me in Elvish I think. Cairno mon stacten adamarrí travea.” The words came out stilted and she wasn’t even sure if she was pronouncing them right.
Lianna smiled, her eyes drifting down to her lap. “How very sweet. ‘I will protect my stubborn little tavern maid.’”
Heat returned to her cheeks once more. Just who was he calling little? Though, she’d be lying if it didn’t touch her. But that meant whatever he was doing, he was doing it for her. Putting his life on the line for her, just what she’d been trying so hard to avoid. All she knew for certain was that the list Farron kept would be as long as she was tall by the time he returned. She’d be in his debt for the rest of her life if this continued much longer.
It was Lianna’s turn to slump back in her seat, the defiant look fading from her face. “I can crush every one of them, but still those men terrify me. The power that they wield in the kingdom, over the King…”
“Then why don’t you?”
Lianna arched an eyebrow at her. “Everything would fall apart. The King would be ousted and a new Council would be formed, with men the previous ones had groomed. His Majesty may seem selfish and arrogant, but in his heart are his people. He is the only thing keeping the Council under control when it should be the other way around.” She reached out and grabbed Claire’s arm. “Let him protect you.”
