by R. A. Rock
“Why?” Lorcan said.
“We’re ending the Severance,” Tess told him.
He froze, eyes wide. “What?”
“We’re ending the Severance and we need to translate the Scroll of Severance to do that.”
“You have the Scroll of Severance?”
“Yes. And I don’t need to remind you that you don’t tell anyone anything that you’ve heard and seen here.”
“Of course not, but nobody can end the Severance, Tess,” Lorcan objected.
Tess put her legs over the side of the bed with a whimper.
“We’ll see about that.”
Chapter 29
Tess and Finn, with a glamour on their see-through faces, had literally walked right through the guards who were stationed at the entrance to the wyrm tunnels, which had freaked the soldiers out considerably. But they had been unable to stop a couple of ghosts.
Then the two of them had sent an orb to find Perdira, but she was nowhere to be found. The orb spent a good part of the afternoon flitting here and there throughout the wyrm tunnels, never finding anything. Either Perdira wasn’t there or she was ignoring them for her own amusement. Finn privately thought it was likely that it was the latter.
They had gone and found Lorcan again when they had given up searching, and he had reluctantly come back to the Keeper’s quarters with them. The three of them had been brainstorming ideas for half an hour but had gotten absolutely nowhere.
“Well,” Lorcan said, standing up. “If you two don’t need my help anymore, I think I’ll go catch some of the fireworks in the Courtyard.” He looked up at the clock. “It’s after supper. They’ve probably already started.”
“No,” Tess said, too quickly and Lorcan frowned. “Please, Lorcan. We need you. I need you.”
“Tess,” he said with a sigh. “I want to help you. I do. But I don’t want to miss out on the Hundred Years Ball, either. You don’t have anything for me to do right now, so why shouldn’t I go to the fireworks?”
“We can go together,” she said, glancing at Finn.
“What about Finn’s vow issue?” Lorcan said.
Tess thought for a second.
“Finn can give you some immobilizing spells and a transport spell,” she said, needing to convince him. If they lost Lorcan and then needed him to pick something up for them, it would be a disaster. “It’ll be fine.”
“His satchel is as ghostly as his body,” Lorcan pointed out.
Finn grinned.
“The satchel is not the only place I keep my spells,” he said, and Tess looked at him, surprised. “Check the cupboard.”
Lorcan walked over to the cupboard and pulled out a leather bag that looked like a water skin but was dry on the inside. When Lorcan shook it out on the table, spell after spell tumbled out.
“Fine, that problem’s solved, I suppose,” Lorcan said, admitting it begrudgingly. “But if I do agree and we go to the fireworks, then what? How will you find this Perdira, who you claim exists and is living down in the wyrm tunnels?”
He made it sound so crazy when he said it like that.
“Not sure,” Finn said, determined in spite of the obstacles. “But we’ll figure something out. We always do.”
“Hey, wait a minute,” Lorcan said as a thought occurred to him. “How is it that you two haven’t been discovered? Why haven’t the King and Dark Queen walked right in here and captured you?”
“This room is the Keeper of the Scroll’s quarters,” Tess explained.
“And?” Lorcan asked, not understanding.
“The Keeper stayed hidden for thousands of years,” Tess said. “He had so many spells on these rooms that even the Stars themselves couldn’t have found this place, never mind the King and Dark Queen.”
“And how is it that you found it?”
Tess looked at Finn, and he shrugged.
“Well,” Tess said. “I can tell you, but you have to promise not to tell anyone. Especially not Runa.”
“I promise,” Lorcan said, exasperated. “Haven’t I promised enough? I said that whatever went on while I was helping you, I wouldn’t tell anyone.”
“I believe you, but can we also make a palm vow,” Tess said, hoping she wouldn’t offend him.
But he only nodded and held up his hand to her ghostly one. Once the vow was made, she told him the whole story.
“So what? You’re the Keeper of the Scroll now?” Lorcan shook his head. “That’s crazy, Tessa.”
“I know. But it’s also the reason I know that I can end the Severance. We have the Scroll. We have the Crown of Visions now to translate it. And I have the Keeper’s amulet and his memories to help us with whatever we have to do to break the spell and end the Severance.”
“It makes more sense now that I know all of this,” Lorcan said. “And you have my full support and any help I can give. If you could really end the Severance, Tessa…” He trailed off, his eyes staring off into space.
Tess wondered if he was imagining a world where he and Runa could be together. Stars above, but she wanted to give that world to him—a united Ahlenerra. She wanted that more than anything.
“I’m going to,” she said firmly. “No one believes I can, but I will.”
“Hey,” Finn said.
“Ahlenerra will be united once more, Lorcan. Soon.”
“Just tell me what to do. How can I help?” He rolled up his sleeves.
“Well, maybe start by not abandoning us just yet? We have no way of touching anything until we get our bodies back, and until then, we’re vulnerable. Please, just stay with us. We’ll go to the fireworks and then search again for Perdira later.”
“Sounds good,” Lorcan said, then paused. “But I’m supposed to meet Runa tonight.”
“Not a problem,” Finn said. There was no way he was going to prevent Lorcan from seeing the woman he loved for one of the last times this century. “We’ll be turned back solid by then. And if we haven’t, well, we’re not going to stop you from spending one of your last nights with her.”
“Thanks,” Lorcan said, sending a grateful glance Finn’s way. “I know you don’t like her. And that she’s tried to hurt you.”
“Kill,” Finn corrected.
“But I see a side of her that no one else does. I think it’s a more real side than the one she shows the world. If you knew that side of her…”
“I believe you, Lorcan,” Tess said, her voice earnest. “When I was in the Dark Court, I was just playing a role. I believe Runa is too. That’s why I didn’t kill her. The problem is when you believe that the role you’re playing is who you really are. That’s when you get into trouble.”
“That’s true,” he said, his face troubled. “I don’t really know her. But I care about her anyway.”
“I get it, Lorcan,” Finn said, trying to clap a hand on his shoulder and frowning as he passed right through the other man. He lifted his hand and scowled at it. “You can’t choose who you love.”
They needed to go to the fireworks so that they could get back to searching for Perdira. The ancient Fae was their only hope of ever getting back their proper bodies.
And Tess needed a solid body if she was to put on the crown and read the Scroll, which she had to do as soon as possible. Plus, they didn’t know how long the spell to end the Severance was going to take, and time was running out.
“Lorcan, can you grab the spells and bring those cuffs? When we’re substantial again, Finn, we’ll need to cuff ourselves together.”
They both nodded, and Lorcan tucked the magical objects in his pocket.
“Gentlemen,” she said, wishing she could change clothes. “Let’s go to the fireworks.”
The three of them sat at the edge of the Courtyard, waiting for the fireworks to start. Finn had led them to the side with the three boulders, close to the entrance of the sealed-off set of wyrm tunnels where they had found the crown. Since they had already searched the tunnels that were open to the public and Perdira wasn’t there,
he figured the next logical step was to search the other set of tunnels.
They got comfy on the grass, and when the first burst exploded in the sky overhead like an enormous blue flower, they all lay down on their backs.
“This reminds me of all those summer holidays that we spent together,” Tess said to Lorcan. “We used to sneak out to the courtyard, even when we were too young and our mothers wouldn’t let us go watch the fireworks.”
Twenty or thirty small ones burst overhead in blues, greens, and purples, the lights so pretty against the black sky.
“I remember,” Lorcan said, his voice warm. “You and me and Nyall and Elle would sneak out of our rooms and go watch anyway. Lying on our backs in the bushes.”
“How did we not get eaten alive by bugs?” Tess asked, laughing.
“I have no idea,” Lorcan said. “We probably did, but we didn’t care.”
“I can’t see Elle not caring,” Tess said. “She hated anything that was not perfect. And bugs are not perfect. That’s for sure.”
“Who’s Elle?” Finn put in.
“Elle?” Tess said, seeming surprised that he didn’t know. “She’s my sister.”
“At least the Courtyard spell keeps the bugs away here,” Lorcan pointed out. “The whole spell on the castle makes for quite the idyllic existence for one week out of every century.”
Finn snorted.
“For some Fae, it definitely is,” he commented.
“Yes,” Lorcan said, giving a small humorless laugh. “I’m well aware that I am one of the privileged few who haven’t had much pain in my life. And who others view as having an idyllic life all the time.”
Finn gave a grunt.
“But I’m not going to feel guilty about it or wish I had it worse. I’m sorry for what you’ve suffered, Finn—and you too, Tessa. I truly am. But it wasn’t me that did it.”
“We know, Lorcan,” Tess said, placating him. “We know you didn’t mean it like that.”
“It’s fine,” Finn said, not sounding fine.
Tess understood his attitude. What did Lorcan, a Light Fae who had never known pain, understand of his suffering? It was exactly how she had felt about Nyall.
“Let’s just watch the fireworks,” Finn said, and they were all silent after that.
The colors exploded across the night sky, leaving trailing plumes of light. Tess was mesmerized, lost in the moment and in the nostalgia of her childhood memories. The cool soft grass was comfortable, and she wished she could stay there and sleep under the stars.
But too soon, the show was over, and real life intruded. Tess gave a sigh and got to her feet. Lorcan jumped up, too.
“So, where’s this entrance? I don’t want to be late for my… meeting,” he finished awkwardly.
“Your tryst with Runa, you mean?” Tess asked, in a teasing tone. “No. We wouldn’t want you to be late either. Come this way.”
She led the way past the three boulders and into the forest. When they reached the clearing, Lorcan had to cut another opening for himself.
The two men followed Tess into the dark hole in the ground, Lorcan’s footsteps echoing eerily. They walked down until they reached the first fork in the tunnels.
“I have an idea to try that may get Perdira here more quickly,” Tessa said, her fingers fluttering against her leg.
“What is it?” Finn asked, immediately suspicious.
“I’m going to ask for her to grant a wish,” she said, the quiver in her voice betraying the fact that she was not as sanguine as she seemed about the thought of asking Perdira for a wish.
“A wish?” Lorcan asked with a snort of laughter. “Tales heard at my grandmother’s knee.”
“It’s not a tale,” Finn said, feeling annoyed with the man, even though he had helped them so much. “Perdira already granted a wish for Tess. And it nearly killed her.”
“It’s true, Lorcan. And I think you should go now. You have a tryst to get to. And we should be all right from here. Either she’ll help us, or she won’t.”
“You’re sure?” he asked, though he was clearly wanting to get out of the wyrm tunnels.
“We’re sure, Lorcan. Go to your woman. And thanks for the help.”
Lorcan gave a nod.
“I’ll see you tomorrow?” he said.
“Sure hope so,” Tess said.
Finn and Tess watched Lorcan’s retreating form for a moment, and then Finn turned toward Tess and tried to grab her hands, but they simply passed through each other.
“You can not do this,” he said, worried. “I can’t lose you, Tess.”
“I’m going to ask her for a wish,” Tess said, trying to keep her tone calm and reasonable. “I may choose in the end not to let her grant it.”
Finn scowled.
“You’re playing with fire here, Tessa. She may seem silly and harmless, but she’s one of the most powerful Fae in Ahlenerra, and the Stars know what might happen if you actually make her angry.”
“Listen, Finn. We have to end the Severance. Before the Hundred Years Ball is over. The only way to do that is if we can read what the spell says we have to do. And the only way to do that is to put on the crown and have it translate the ancient language for us. But I can’t put on the crown because I have no substance to my head.”
Finn sighed and gazed up at the roof of the tunnel.
“I’ll be careful. I won’t promise her anything. But we need her help. That means we need to find her.”
“I know what you’re saying is right, but it’s too dangerous. I can’t let you do this, Tess.”
“I’m sorry, Finn, but you can’t stop me.” She drew in a deep breath.
“Perdira,” she said in a loud voice that caused echoes to be set off in all the tunnels. “I would ask you for a wish. Please show yourself.”
Slowly, the echoes of her voice faded, and all was quiet again. They waited. Then an owl appeared and landed on an outcropping of rock.
“Is that her owl or her?” Finn murmured to Tess.
“Only the Stars know,” she whispered back.
Then the owl exploded in a shower of fireworks, and when the smoke cleared, a gorgeous woman stood before them. She looked to be about thirty-five—older than Perdira usually appeared. Black hair as dark as night. A white dress that emphasized her full, round breasts and hips. And a face so lovely that it made Finn’s heart ache. He felt the overpowering desire he had felt before, the first time he had met her, and he prayed to the Stars that this would go well.
“Perdira,” Tess said, standing up straight and tall.
“Tessa Callahan,” Perdira said, putting one hand on her hip. “What do you want from me now?”
Chapter 30
“What do I want? What I said before. I want a wish.” Tessa silently congratulated herself on not sounding like a scared little kid when she said it.
Perdira started laughing, eventually bending over and putting her hands on her knees to support herself. When she finally stopped laughing, she stood up and wiped her eyes. Tess leaned against the wall of the wyrm tunnel and crossed her arms, waiting without much patience for her laughing fit to be over.
“Thanks for that. I needed a good laugh. You really made my night.” Perdira gave another delicate snort-giggle.
“You’re welcome,” Tess said. “Now about the wish?”
“You barely survived the last one. So I doubt you’re back for another. And anyway, who says I give the same person more than one wish?”
Tess cut her eyes over to Finn. He lifted his shoulder and dropped it again, indicating that he didn’t know what to do. She was on her own. She decided to chance it and tell the truth.
“You’re right. I don’t want a wish. We need your help.”
“That’s even funnier than wanting a second wish,” Perdira said, her smile wide and amused.
“Seriously, Perdira,” Finn said, sounding frustrated. “You said you wanted to be helpful.”
“Technically, I said I was being helpful
,” Perdira cut in.
“Exactly, so won’t you do this one small thing for us?”
“And what’s that?” she asked, still chuckling a little to herself.
“We need our bodies back,” Finn said. “The wyrm came by when I was unconscious from Runa’s poison dagger, and Tessa saved us by using the rings. But…”
“But there was a slight side effect?” Perdira asked, her eyes merry.
“Yes,” Tessa said, exasperated. “We’re insubstantial.” She swiped her hand through the rock to demonstrate.
“Welcome to my world,” Perdira said, looking put out. “Why would I spend some of my precious energy to help you two?”
“Because you want the Severance to end as much as we do?”
“I don’t want it that bad,” she said, looking at her nails.
“Because you have a kind heart under all your mischief?” Finn tried.
“You wish, Big Boy. Sorry. I left my heart behind a long time ago.”
“How about you want to stick it to the queen, who is going to be very angry when the Severance ends and she no longer has a kingdom to torment?”
Perdira raised an eyebrow, thinking about that one.
“Hmmm,” she said, tapping her index finger against her lips. “That could be a good enough reason. Setta and I don’t exactly see eye to eye. We had a falling out a long time ago.”
“So you’ll help us?” Finn asked.
“Now, now, don’t be so eager, Finn,” Perdira said, strolling casually past them. “It’s unseemly.”
He pursed his lips but didn’t say anything.
“I think we could come to an arrangement.”
“What does that mean?” Tess asked, wary.
“Well, I can’t use some of my precious Starlight to help you without a good reason. I can’t be wasting it doing good deeds, you know? You have to make it worth my while.”
“What do you want?” Tess said, her voice hard.
“Well, Finn—”
“No,” Tess cut her off before she could even say anything, and Perdira gave Tessa a surprised look.
