Reign of Ash

by Meg Anne

  “I suppose you’ll need to see the legs,” Nial asked tightly, lifting one of his dark brows.

  Helena’s expression softened, “Yes, seeing the extent of your injuries would best allow me to understand how to undo the damage.”

  He nodded, his lips twisting into a frown as he warned, “It’s not a pleasant sight, Kiri.”

  She shrugged, “I’m not easily frightened.” As he worked his pants down his legs, she lifted the blanket that had fallen to the floor and held it up to offer him a modicum of privacy. She heard the gentle rustling of fabric before he let out a low grunt.

  “I’m ready.”

  Helena set the blanket onto the vacated chair and tried to keep her face in a calm mask as she took in the twisted limbs. She heard Serena gasp behind her, Nial’s ears turning red at the sound. His shoulders were stiff and his lips flat as she reached out a cool hand to run down the length of the leg. He grimaced, flinching at the contact.

  “You can feel that?” she asked neutrally.

  He bit down on his lip and nodded, “Yes. My legs are quite sensitive actually.”

  “That’s a good sign. The nerves cannot have been completely damaged. That should assist with the healing,” Helena offered as she continued her inspection.

  That’s probably the only good sign, she thought while trying to keep her expression neutral. His legs had been broken in multiple places; the skin was discolored and thick with scars from where his bones had pierced his skin when they broke. It was clear that the bones had never been properly reset. Both kneecaps appeared as though they had been completely shattered. His limbs were utterly mangled, only marginally resembling the shape they were supposed to be. How could someone ever survive this kind of pain?

  Her aqua eyes glittered as she looked back up at Nial’s face. There was a new level of admiration and respect in them. This was a man who had looked adversity straight in the eye and didn’t back down an inch. He could teach her a thing or two in that regard.

  Nial was staring straight ahead, bracing himself for what he was sure would be bad news.

  “It might take me a few tries. I am still learning, but if you don’t mind… I would like to try,” she said softly, her hand coming to rest over his closed fist.

  He looked up at her in surprise, “Really?”

  She nodded, her smile soft.

  “Yes,” he cleared his throat, “I am more than willing.”

  Helena moved to sit beside him, apologizing with her eyes when the movement made him wince. Nial’s anticipation of further pain gave her a moment of pause and her hands trembled slightly in her lap. His eyes were clenched shut and he was breathing quickly through his nose. Her instinct had always seemed to guide her before; she sincerely hoped it wouldn’t let her down now. She didn’t think her heart could stand the disappointment of another failure, let alone witnessing devastation in those blue-gray eyes.

  Mother guide me, she fervently prayed as she placed her hands on either side of his left leg. Helena took a deep breath to begin the process of centering herself before diving into the pool of her magic. As always, her magic was waiting for her; its smooth surface rippling in greeting as she began to draw it into herself. She used it first to enhance her senses, allowing her eyes to see through his skin and into the muscles and bones beneath. Brushing her fingers down the length of his leg, she moved slowly, allowing her fingers to act as magnets that guided the bones back into place. She continued to move them, each wiggle an attempt to untangle the muscles that had knotted around the broken bones. As she moved, she also pushed her magic into his body, shielding him from the agony such adjustments would cause.

  Helena lost track of time, working down his leg a number of times before switching to the other. She could feel her own body start to shake, her magic draining her even more quickly than usual given the way she had failed to take care of herself. There was a hand on her shoulder and she heard Serena’s voice calling from a distance, “That’s enough for today, Kiri.”

  Ignoring the voice, Helena continued to knit the bones back together, her fingers moving as though they were placing pieces of a puzzle.

  “Helena,” her friend finally snapped, shaking her.

  She blinked, trying to refocus on the physical world, her hold on her magic slipping until it settled back into her inner reservoir. Still blinking, she looked into Nial’s awed face. “Did I do it?” she asked, her voice hoarse.

  Tears filled his eyes as he threw himself on her, wrapping her in his grateful embrace. Startled, she looked over his head at Serena, who had tears streaming down her cheeks. She untangled herself gingerly, not wanting to jostle him. When she looked down at his legs, she let out her own awestruck gasp. Where two grotesque imitations of human limbs had lain previously, there were now two perfectly sculpted legs. The skin was soft and responsive beneath her fingers, his toes twitching as she ran a finger down the arch of his foot.

  “Can you try to bend it?” she asked, her voice still a gentle rasp.

  Nial’s face twisted in concentration as he tried to repair the link between his mind and the muscles he had not used for almost twenty years. Before long, both knees were bent and his feet were flat on the bed.

  Serena cheered as he swept his legs over the side of the bed, Helena moving to offer assistance as he attempted to stand. He swayed slightly, trying to adjust to the feeling of standing again. When he straightened to his full height, he was almost as tall as Von. Helena wrapped her arm around his waist, helping him take his first teetering steps since he was a child, her own eyes filled with tears.

  “How do you feel?” Serena whispered, her eyes bright with yet more unshed tears.

  “A little weak,” Nial admitted.

  Helena helped him sit back down, “That’s to be expected. While the muscles have healed, it will likely take time for you to regain full strength in them.”

  “You can train with Helena in the mornings. While she learns how to use weapons, you can work on building up your own strength again,” Serena offered.

  Nial’s smile was blinding as he looked up at her, “Thank you, Helena, from the bottom of my heart thank you. I will never be able to thank you enough for what you have done for me.”

  Helena rolled her eyes at his dramatics but was grinning as he continued effusively, “You have given me something I long ago stopped believing was possible. Not only that, but in my wildest dreams, I never imagined that there was a possibility I would recover completely. You’ve truly gifted me with a second chance at life.”

  “It seems to me you were doing just fine, even without the use of your legs, Nial.”

  Nial’s eyes seemed to glow as his stare moved to Serena, “There are certain things a man needs full use of his body for, at least if he wishes to do them properly.”

  For the second time ever, at least to Helena’s knowledge, Serena blushed. Although this time, as Serena looked away she was biting back a smile.

  Chapter Three

  Helena curled up in an armchair; her body and mind were so fatigued she could do little more than sit there while she half-listened to the men speaking around her. Things had been progressing, at least on the trade front. The merchants she’d brought with her from Elysia had made the connections necessary to establish new trade lines and set up shops in the central market. As for the rest of them, their new mission was less about diplomacy and more about rescue.

  They had gathered in the library to discuss their next steps, but Helena couldn’t find the energy to participate in the conversation. Her Circle had been relentless as they chased down leads that might take them to Von. Time and time again they returned empty-handed. The problem was that there was simply no trace of Gillian or Von; they had literally vanished from the camp, leaving no trail for the others to follow.

  Kragen and Ronan had taken charge of the Holbrooke’s garrison, sending riders off in every direction to see if anyone had seen them, but Helena knew it was futile. After learning of the Kaelpas stones and
how they could instantaneously transport one or more people across the realm, she knew it wouldn’t be as simple as searching a nearby town. No, this would require smoking the she-rat out of her hidey hole. If only there was someone that could at least point us in the right direction, she thought desperately.

  “What if we send for Micha?” Kragen suggested in his deep rumble.

  Helena’s ears perked up at the question. “You think he might know where his sister went?” she asked from her chair. The men spun toward her, seeming to have forgotten she had been sitting there.

  “It’s a possibility worth considering, Kiri. They are twins and share a linked history. It seems unlikely they would have many secrets between them,” Kragen responded.

  Helena chewed on her bottom lip, thinking about the playful man who had been one of her first friends in the Capital, as well as one of her suitors. “Could he have been part of it?” she asked no one in particular.

  “I highly doubt Gillian was acting alone, although I’m not certain Micha is involved,” Timmins answered thoughtfully.

  “At the very least, he should be informed of his sister’s actions. His reaction to the information could be highly illuminating. If his friendship with Helena is genuine, perhaps he would be willing to help us locate his sister,” Darrin added.

  “You mean turn against her,” Helena clarified dryly, her tone indicating the likelihood of that possibility.

  “I don’t hear you coming up with any ideas,” he muttered darkly as his arms crossed his chest.

  She lifted a brow at his insolence but left the comment unchallenged. There was a creak as the door to the library opened, Effie stepping in with a tray loaded with fruit, cheese and a selection of dried meats.

  “I thought you all might like a snack,” she said by way of explanation, setting the tray upon the table.

  “Thank you, Effie. It was very kind of you to think of us,” Helena said, making no move toward the food. The others all stepped eagerly to the table, loading up plates with their treats until the tray was almost bare.

  “Would you like me to make you a plate, Kiri?” Effie asked, her voice a gentle chastisement for the men who had not thought to leave anything for Helena. For all that she tried to remain unobtrusive, the girl’s pointed words brought the men to a halt.

  Helena’s eyes twinkled with laughter as they paused in their eating to look comically from their plates to her empty hands. Darrin’s ears turned bright red and he quickly offered his plate to her. Kragen, Helena noted, merely shoved another piece of cheese into his mouth and winked.

  “Nice try,” she said sarcastically, rolling her eyes at Darrin before looking back at the maid and shaking her head, “Thank you, Effie, but I’m fine.”

  “You missed the afternoon meal while you were with Lord Nial,” she countered. Again, while delicately delivered, her reproach was a direct hit.

  Helena laughed, “I much prefer when you are focused on the others.”

  The girl’s lips pursed with laughter, but she knew she had made her point and felt no need to comment further.

  Helena let out a deep sigh, relenting, “Fine, a little something to eat would be most welcome.”

  “How is it that she can boss you around, but we cannot?” Darrin asked in annoyed disbelief, watching Helena accept her plate.

  “Because I like her more than you,” Helena teased.

  Effie blushed at the compliment and moved to start clearing off the table.

  Kragen cuffed Darrin on the back of his head, “Rein in your pride, Shield. It doesn’t matter who gives her food, just be happy she’s eating and stop asking stupid questions.”

  “Especially when she spent most of the day channeling a great deal of power,” Joquil added sagely, as he crunched neatly on a cracker.

  Helena shook her head as she bit into a piece of cheese, its tangy flavor making her stomach growl in approval. Effie smirked at the sound.

  “Are you certain you aren’t gifted with Spirit, Effie? It seems like you are a bit of a mind reader,” Helena joked before taking another small bite.

  Effie shook her head, blonde curls dancing as she did, “No, Kiri, simply observant. I am ungifted, but I grew up listening to my Gran tell me stories about the Masters of Prophecy.”

  The girl’s words unlocked a memory in Helena’s mind. She looked up at Timmins, her brows furrowing as she recalled his story about her prophecy. “Timmins, that night around the campfire you said that the prophesied one would be born to an ungifted woman and would be marked with the sign of the Mother—”

  “That’s not the way my Gran told it,” Effie interjected, Helena’s attention making her more confident than usual.

  “What do you mean?” Timmins asked looking sharply at the maid. Helena could see that he did not appreciate being told by a mere slip of a girl that he had gotten his facts wrong.

  Effie’s eyes rounded as she turned toward the Advisor, “I didn’t mean…”

  Timmins waved her off, “What did your Gran say?” His question was more demand than inquiry.

  “Well… Gran always said that there was much the Chosen had forgotten about the Mother and her Mate and that... that the prophecy regarding the Mother of Shadows was a warning,” the girl finished tentatively.

  All four men were looking at her unblinkingly, Effie’s shoulders rolling in as she tried to make herself smaller under the joint scrutiny. She turned beseeching blue eyes to Helena, looking ready to bolt.

  Helena’s face was filled with understanding as she encouraged in a soft voice, “Please continue, Effie.”

  Swallowing audibly, the girl tried to muster her courage before beginning again, “Well, the prophecy was about two queens marked by the Mother, but it never referred to a physical marking. They would be twins of her gift, but not of her power. The first of them would be known as the Corruptor, the one who would be filled with resentment at what the Mother did not give her. She would corrupt her gift to gain greater ability. The second would be known as the Vessel, the one blessed to be a true recipient of the Mother’s power. Upon learning of the Vessel, the Corruptor would seek to destroy her, seeing her as the ultimate sign of the Mother’s rejection. With each act, her corruption would pull her further away from the Mother’s gift, meaning that she will never be able to truly comprehend the full price of her actions.”

  Effie licked her lips, her quavering voice gaining strength as she continued, “The Vessel, responding to the threat, would stop at nothing to protect those she safeguarded. But her power would be raw, still untested, and if left unbound it would be her and the Chosen’s undoing. The Mother’s gift always comes with a price and that price demands balance; just as the Mother had her Mate so too would the Vessel. He would carry the other half of her soul, holding a part of her power within himself as it would be too much for her to contain on her own. If for any reason, the bond never fully matured between the Vessel and her Mate, the Vessel would undergo the Fracturing, so called because her mind would shatter and she would be lost to the madness of her magic. Once Fractured she would unleash the full extent of the Mother’s power on the Chosen without knowledge or understanding of what she did. She would become a Mother of Shadows, as much a slave to her magic as all those that served her.”

  There was no sound in the library as the girl finished her retelling, save Helena’s shallow gasps of breath. Out of everything she had just heard, the reason for the Corruptor’s betrayal stood out in sharp relief; she hadn’t found her Mate. Sensing Helena’s panic before the suitors had declared themselves, Timmins had assured her that a Mate had always been found. Had he lied?

  She turned her bewildered aqua eyes to Timmins who appeared to shrink under the unasked question. Embarrassment colored his cheeks and he sheepishly shrugged his shoulders. He knew what had caught her attention and felt guilty for having been found out. Helena scowled at the realization. What other little white lies had he fed her in the name of keeping her calm?

  Joquil spoke bef
ore she could give voice to the accusation. “But we checked; when Helena was born she had the Mother’s star on the base of her skull…” Joquil trailed off.

  Timmins tore his eyes from her and picked up the question where Joquil left off, “If the prophecy does not refer to a physical marking, then how are we to know who it refers to?”

  “By the bonding of the Vessel to her Mate,” Effie said, seeming surprised that they did not know this. “While Chosen can find their mates, such a bond is nowhere near as strong as that of a Kiri and her Mate, and even that connection pales in comparison to the bond that the Vessel will forge with her Mate. They will know true fusion, their powers feeding and growing with one another until they achieve a total binding, their souls forever entwined and strengthened by the other. Neither will die so long as the other still breathes. They will take their final breaths together, returning to the Mother as one. That is, of course, if they complete the binding. If the bond is rejected, or simply does not achieve its completion, both will be at the mercy of the Fracturing.”

  The words of the explanation crashed into Helena as their true meaning crystalized and began to shriek within her mind. “The Trial of the Kiri,” she whispered, blanching. If what the girl said was true, her and Von’s separation was more serious than any of them realized.

  “If what you say is true,” Timmins question mirroring Helena’s thoughts, “why is there no mention of this in any of the histories that have been passed down from Circle to Circle?”

  Effie shrugged, “I was simply telling you the story that my Gran told me when I was young. She always said that no one knew what the prophecy really meant, or when it would come into being. So long as a Damaskiri never allowed herself to be fully corrupted, there would never be a reason for the Vessel to rise. Everything would be contingent upon that final choice.”