by Kumar, Lisa
“Bites and slashes?” That sounded very animal-like, not at all like the elves she’d come to know.
His hands caressed her neck, carefully skirting the bandage. “That is their main difference from us. Their animal senses override any ingrained elvin restraint, especially in the newly converted. The older ones are still animals but can act as civilized as any elf when the situation calls for it. Newly converted darkindred appear feral and wild in appearance. You saw the one we brought into the courtyard. He was young. As they become older, they revert to something resembling their original form, looking very much like they did before the conversion. Except for their eyes. Their eyes are yellow and stay that way, for the most part. Only the strongest and oldest of their kind can control their eye color for limited periods. I believe you can see how all this could be troublesome?”
She leaned her head against his shoulder, a shiver racking her. “It’s becoming harder to tell who is who or what.”
“Yes. This is posing a problem as more and more people are taken. At the beginning, it wasn’t such a dilemma, for the darkindred started out of a very limited and conscripted group. We knew exactly who and what they were capable of, for we were the ones who’d determined their punishments.”
“Punishments?” She sensed a story here but it was one at which she couldn’t guess.
Relian sighed. “That’s for a later day.”
Cal didn’t complain at his refusal, as her mind already overflowed with all she’d learned. Who would’ve thought it would take almost getting killed to squeeze some information from him?
***
The first thing Cal noticed as they sat down was that the enclosed patio housed a dizzying array of plants and flowers. To get there, Relian and Kenhel had guided her and Maggie through the hallways of the royal wing. She hadn’t seen that section of the rambling palace in the first four months of her stay and wasn’t disappointed in what she saw.
When she and Maggie first arrived in Eria, she hadn’t realized how paths, corridors, and courtyards interconnected everything. The many structures merged and flowed together into one big edifice.
Maggie, probably eager to try out the new language they’d learned, cleared her throat and spoke. “What are you exactly? I know you told us you’re all elves, but is that what you really are? Is that what you call yourselves?”
Relian and Kenhel shared a look before Relian spoke, taking care to enunciate his words. “Tuatha de Danann, the sídhe, the Fair Folk—we were called all those and more over the years. None of it’s accurate but none false, either.”
Cal frowned. That was his explanation? “How so?” It couldn’t be true and false at the same time. Did he delight in giving such responses just to make her head spin?
Kenhel fielded that question, a definite gleam in his eye. “Our being, our existence, gave rise to those stories, but they don’t reflect who we are, as they aren’t true representations of us.” His seriousness of tone belied the expression in his eyes.
Maggie rolled her eyes. “But that still doesn’t explain how you think of yourselves or what you are. And don’t even think about giving us a cryptic answer that sounds smart but tells us nothing.” She leveled a firm glare at both elves to punctuate her statement.
A voice came from the door that led to the adjoining study. “They wouldn’t think of such a thing, my lady.”
Talion. Oh, no. His tone of voice inferred he wouldn’t have any such compunction in doing so and would, just to frustrate her friend. Maggie froze and closed her eyes. Cal wished she could give her friend a shot of strength.
To Cal’s surprise, he merely gazed at Maggie. “Haven’t you been learning about and observing us in our everyday tasks? Let that suffice to tell you how we think of ourselves. I believe the answer as to what we call ourselves rests in the language you’re now speaking.”
Maggie narrowed her eyes to a slit, clearly not trusting this gentle rebuke to not turn into all-out war. “Still can’t figure out the answer. However, I’m sure you’ll tell me.”
Relian slid his hand over Cal’s knee and up her thigh until he reached the hand in her lap. As her eyes met his, a smile came to his face. He nodded toward his father and Maggie, shaking his head in amused consternation.
“Of course.” Talion inclined his head, face impassive. “As you know, ‘eivana’ is a term we use when referring to ourselves, so we are eivana or elvin, which is the closest word that is available in English, according to our sources. ‘Eivan’ roughly means ‘elves’ in your language.”
“That does make sense,” Maggie begrudgingly admitted before her eyebrows shot up. “Sources?” She tapped her index finger to her lips. Her glare encased all three elves as she apparently remembered something that had been niggling at her alarm-o-meter. “And how do you know all the different names you were called in English if you weren’t on Earth?”
Talion neatly sidestepped Maggie’s questions by ignoring her. “And as Kenhel was saying, there are no true tales left of us on Earth, only half-forgotten lies. What truth remained has seeped into distant memory. It had done so before we even left your kind to its own devices.”
Cal hesitated, glancing at Relian before looking back at his father. What did he mean by “left”? Were the elves once part of their world—Earth? Maggie did have a point. But as there were so many unanswered questions that tumbled around in her head, she didn’t know where to begin. “The veil—I still don’t understand what it is. I know it’s some sort of doorway between our worlds.”
Talion glanced at Cal. “That’s a fair enough definition. The magic that holds nature and elf together formed the veil. But even that is about as far as our knowledge stretches.”
“That’s what Relian said.”
Talion nodded approvingly. “He’s right. But what little we can tell you of the veil is best started at the beginning.”
Maggie nudged her under the table and mouthed, “About time.” All three elves watched them. Had they somehow overheard or lip-read what Maggie said? She thought it possible because Relian did show a beginning command of English. Cal wouldn’t be astonished if he actually knew more than he let on. No, there were still many secrets between them.
“Relian, would you like to tell the tale?” asked his father.
“Nay, I learnt it from you, as I was not much out of childhood when it occurred. So I believe you are best situated to speak of it with assurance.”
Talion seated himself at Cal and Maggie’s end of the table, so he was adjacent to them. He was quiet for a while. “So much hinges on the veil.” Whatever else he thought, he didn’t voice and only offered a smile as his eyes cleared. “In truth, at one time there was no veil. Humanity and elf-kind had once been wary friends, but that slowly changed with the inevitability of time.”
That answered Cal’s question about whether elves had ever lived on Earth—now to discover what had made them leave. Her intuition alerted her she was about to find out and that it wouldn’t paint humans in the most favorable light.
Talion continued. “When mankind started to forget the bonds of friendship and, instead, cultivated fright and distrust of elves amongst themselves, the veil began to appear. It took many centuries to happen, but as fear poured into the making of false and hurtful stories, my people retreated. We learned to distance ourselves by disappearing behind the veil and venturing out less frequently. The mist, which always signaled the development of the veil, formed before us in times of need. By the time we abandoned humanity, the veil had such a grip on the two lands that even we were hard pressed to cross easily back and forth. After the final passage, the stories of our previous presence passed into legend and myth.”
Maggie’s eyebrows drew together in puzzlement. “You mean that the veil only hid your homes away at the beginning, not separating them by dimension or whatever this is?”
Talion smiled. “No, it was always a dimensional shift of some kind. It just became more permanent as time carried on.”
; “Oh.” Maggie said nothing else.
Cal looked at Relian in bemusement. So that was the origin of all the stories. “It’s hard to believe that Maggie and I are in a place that used to only be a myth to our reality back home.”
Relian squeezed her hand. “Some would argue that reality is as much myth as anything else.”
Cal sent him a suspicious stare. Was that supposed to be reassuring? “Oh no, I don’t want to talk philosophically with you all. I’m not falling into that trap.” She wasn’t about to open that can of contention with a ten-foot can opener. Given the collective ages of the elves assembled—something she could only guess at—she wouldn’t come out ahead in that discussion. Age didn’t always equate with wisdom, but that many years had to count for something.
The elves’ laughter rang out. Maggie scooted closer to Kenhel. Was it just to be nearer to him or further from the king? Kenhel seemed to like Maggie and she him. Was more than friendship in their future? Maggie gave no indication either way but had spent a fair amount of time in his company. Cal wanted her friend to be happy, but as she didn’t know her own future here, she didn’t want to push Maggie toward something that might not last.
As Relian drew circles over her palm with his thumb, contentment flooded her. On days like this, the attack from a month ago seemed so far away, as did all the issues that could plague a relationship between her and Relian.
She touched her neck. The skin bore no mark of the dagger. Time did solve some problems, but would it solve all?
Chapter 24
Cal gazed out over the garden-like landscape from the porch. “Sometimes I still can’t believe this place.” The porch, along with Relian’s study, had become a favored retreat of theirs in the past month. It offered more privacy than the gardens they used to frequent, as did the rest of the royal wing.
Relian shifted behind her on the chaise lounge, settling her back comfortably against him. “The porch or Eria?” His breath played over her cheek, stirring the tendrils that lay there. “I would say Eria, but you haven’t seen much of it outside of Eriannon.”
“Both, truthfully. Everything has a natural air of beauty about it here.”
“Is there not beauty in your land?”
Cal mulled over how to answer this question. “Of course there is, but it’s not so...concentrated as it is here.”
“So there are places of beauty but also places of….” He trailed off, waiting for her to finish the thought.
“Ugliness. No, that isn’t quite what I wanted to say. While there’re places that are ugly, the accurate description would be ‘lacking in beauty.’ My world, while it has its own beauty, has fostered a cold sterility in some places.”
Relian rested his chin on the top of her head. He was so touchy-feely with her. Caution and reserve usually ruled over him, but with her he was different. She doubted he’d shown this level of affection to any other female. At least, she hoped not.
As she drank in this newest revelation, his voice sounded by her ear. “It sounds as if nature has been removed from the equation.”
“In many cases, it has.”
“That’s a sad thing.” His voice reverberated against her head and back, sending a chill through her.
“Yes, it is.” And Cal found it was.
Until coming here, she never thought of herself as a nature lover. Like many Americans, she knew the importance of recycling and taking better care of the environment, but those facts were mixed in with cars, electricity, and all the other modern conveniences missing here. Those very conveniences often led to half-hearted attempts at placating a consumer-driven lifestyle. While she always recycled her empty cups when possible, she’d tended to overlook the three-mile drive, one-way, to get the precious liquid that came in those cups.
But it wasn’t that simple. She couldn’t be naïve and look down on her world, though some improvements would be beneficial. Eria and Earth were two very different places, and she couldn’t hold them to the same standards. It really was like comparing apples to oranges, for modern society couldn’t function under the same auspices found in Eria.
Cal shook off her thoughts. Better not to dwell on the place of nature and technology in regards to culture. Her mind turned to something that had nagged at her for the last couple days, but Relian spoke before she could inquire.
“In Eria, dry and acrid areas exist—not the kind of beauty you see here but still with a loveliness in its own right. We also have the luxury of time that most mortals don’t have. We can perfect techniques to an art and have done so. What you see here wasn’t constructed in its entirety for many, many years—far more years than a single mortal has.” He said this with no hint of bragging, just with a strong conviction of knowledge long held.
“That stands to reason, though I never thought about it in such detail.” The perfect segue for acquiring other information had arrived. A thrill of satisfaction shimmied down her spine. “The land is that diverse? And now that you’ve mentioned Eria, I have a few questions.”
“Yes?” His voice sounded a little wary.
“Eria is the country your father rules, the home of the eivans or the elves, as I call you?”
He moved his lips over her hair. “Mmm, that’s correct.”
Cal took a deep breath and then released her flood of questions. “Is it the name of this world, this dimension? What other countries and peoples are here? Are they elves or from another race? From what I’ve gathered, there are no humans in Eria, except for Maggie and me.”
Relian remained silent until he chuckled. “So many questions, my Lady Cal! Did you even stop to breathe?”
She elbowed him lightly in the ribs. “Are you saying I talk too much?”
“I would never tell a lady any such thing.”
“No, just think it.”
He shrugged. “Possibly. But I find that you, as of yet, do not speak overmuch.”
Cal frowned. “Thanks, I think. Do females here ‘speak overmuch?’”
“Don’t females of any race?”
“I won’t dignify that with an answer.” She scooted around to straddle him and glared, pulling on one thin braid that hung from his temple.
He took that opportunity to capture her lips with his. She leaned into his touch and slid her hands over his back. The muscles rippled under her fingertips. Cal shivered as a pleasurable hum spread through her body. He moaned into her mouth. Her hands fisted in his hair, the strands a caress against her skin.
She pressed her breasts against the solid wall of his chest, their buds stiffening. His arousal jutted proudly up against her lower stomach. She shifted, and his hands spanned her waist to move her up and forward. His sex pressed against hers. Oh, God. Heat flooded her lower regions. He thrusted against her. Oh, God. Oh, God. She grew slick with need, and her hips moved in rhythm with his. His hands came up to cup her breasts, and she groaned as he flicked his thumbs over her nipples. Some part of her mind screamed they needed to stop, but the other part wanted to tear his clothes off and throw him down on the chaise lounge. And if they kept going, she’d do exactly that.
He seemed to read her mind because he pulled away with a moan. His pupils were dilated, and his hoarse voice revealed his acute discomfort as he spoke. “Enough, or I’ll take you right here. My restraint is perilously close to snapping. I don’t want our first time to be a hasty, unplanned coupling. I want to do this right, with the proper ceremonies. When we make love, it will be as a bonded couple.”
She suppressed a tremor. He sounded so authoritative. Dear Lord, why’d she find that so sexy? All she could manage was a nod. She didn’t point out the fact they might never bond. They sat in silence, their harsh and ragged breathing the only sound roaring in her ears.
Once air returned to her lungs and her pulse slowed, she cleared her throat to control the huskiness of her voice. “You still haven’t addressed any of my questions.” She nearly laughed at the comical surprise that flitted across his face. So he’d expected her to fo
rget her line of questioning? Not going to happen.
He appeared to choose his words carefully. “There are other fae species. But if there’s no complaint, I would like you to first focus on Eria, and its culture and history. That’s quite an undertaking in and of itself. After you develop a comfortable foundation there, other countries and their peoples can be addressed.”
“Fae peoples!” She smirked, giddy with new knowledge and a sense of achievement.
Relian framed her face with his hands and planted a kiss on her forehead. “That’s all I am going to say for now.” He shook his head. “How do you manage to drag more information from me than I intend to give?”
“It’s a gift.” Despite her words, she had no such ability. Her knowledge of Eria, of him, was minimal. He rarely gave information that illuminated. If anything, it usually confused her. She wanted answers, but she bided her time. Relian would let her in as they became closer. He had to. How could she make informed decisions otherwise?
But she’d never miss a wide-open opportunity for more sleuthing. It’d given her a few useful tidbits in the past. There were a few subjects she refused to tread on, but this wasn’t one. “And what kind of information are you referring to?”
Relian growled. “Indeed, a gift you use on me. As for the other, well….” He tapped her temple. “I think elves are enough of a stretch for you right now.”
She cast her gaze down, seeing her chance for enlightenment slip away. That always seemed to happen. “I guess.”
“Tell me about your home life, if you will?” Relian must’ve sensed her pensive mood, as he often did, since he changed the subject. It was a tactic he’d used more than once, and while she was aware of it, she allowed it most of the time.
“Only if you reciprocate.” She turned sideways in his embrace, so she could lean her shoulder against him.
“Of course.” Relian dipped his head, hair spilling over his velvet-clad shoulders. Her fingers itched to play in that fall of hair. And why couldn’t she? He often had his fingers in hers. And she and Relian had practically humped each other, so that made most caresses seem innocent. But they didn’t have to be locked in a passionate moment for her to touch him. Her hands relaxed involuntarily, and she reached up to run a hand through the beckoning strands.
