The Assassin's Destiny (Isle of Dreams)

by Jones, Kirsten

  Too startled to cry out, Mistral was thrown head first into the cold water. In the time it took for her to realise what had happened Fabian’s hands were around her, pulling her upright. She staggered to her feet, wide-eyed and gasping for air with her hair streaming around her face.

  Laughing, Fabian held her steady with one hand and lifted the other to push back her wet hair, ‘Are you alright?’

  ‘Do I look alright?’ Mistral spluttered and began to shiver, her wet shirt clinging like a second skin.

  He laughed softly, ‘Hmm, let me see –’

  Holding her at arm’s length he deliberately looked her up and down. His eyes travelled slowly back to meet hers, black and raw, the eyes of a stranger. In a heartbeat her lips were crushed to his, desperate with need. Fabian abruptly pulled her closer, holding her tighter. All resolve perished, consumed by desire. She was utterly lost and so was he. At last it was now. Life was finally about to begin.

  Suddenly he was motionless. Then the hands that held her so tightly were no longer pulling but pushing. Her eyes flew open, wide with disbelief.

  His eyes held hers, commanding her with their searing force, ‘We must stop Mistral.’

  Mistral blinked. For a split second she was astounded, then abruptly furious. How could he spurn her just like that? How dare he?

  ‘No! I won’t stop! I can’t! Don’t you see that this is killing me?’

  A shadow crossed Fabian’s face and Mistral instantly knew she had chosen the wrong words. She watched the fire slowly die until he was staring at her with eyes of obsidian, blacker than the wave of rejection that washed over her.

  Drawing in a ragged breath, Fabian lifted a hand to her cheek. Mistral felt it tremble slightly against her skin and reached up to hold it tightly.

  ‘Fabian!’ her voice was low, frantic with pleading. ‘I can’t do this anymore. I’ve tried – really tried! But I haven’t got the Sight! Please, oh, please can we give up on the whole cursed thing and get on with the rest of our lives?’

  Mistral stared imploringly into his face, hoping desperately to see the hard look melt. But, if anything, her words seem to strengthen his resolve. Her heart sank when she saw his jaw clench into the stubborn expression she knew so well.

  ‘We will have a very short life together if we give in now!’ Fabian snapped. ‘You have got the Sight Mistral. You simply need to concentrate more.’

  Mistral gaped at him, stung by his words. So it was all her fault? She wasn’t trying hard enough? Had he not seen how hard she’d been working since The Festival of the Arcane? Her eyes abruptly narrowed. Suddenly speechless with rage, she jerked around and waded angrily to the bank. Not pausing when she reached the top she immediately reached for Cirrus and swung herself into the saddle, forcing him back into the woods without a second glance in Fabian’s direction.

  Mistral rode recklessly, fuelled by rage. Every time she thought of his unjust accusation she swore aloud. It wasn’t him that stared at auras until his head throbbed with the strain, or listened to Serenity’s patronising and Malachi’s snide putdowns for hours on end. She hoped savagely that he wouldn’t dare follow her and then immediately wished that he would.

  Her heart leapt at the sound of heavy thuds behind her only to sink to her boots again when Prospero pounded into view. With a burst of sadness she realised that Fabian wasn’t going to follow her. Slowing Cirrus to a more measured canter she rode the rest of the way back to the Valley lost in her thoughts, alternating between sheer fury and abject misery.

  By the time Mistral had stabled Cirrus her anger had abated to a more manageable foul mood. Dark thoughts of doing something violent to Fabian filled her mind while she stomped towards the dorms to change her sodden clothes.

  ‘Is that a new look Mistral? I like the bedraggled touch. Very classy.’

  Mistral spun round to see the twins lounging casually against the Training Arena fence. She shot them both a black look, not breaking stride while she stalked up the path.

  ‘Such a lovely temperament that girl has.’ Phantom sighed, watching her storm off. ‘Like sunshine on a rainy day.’

  Phantasm said nothing but his green eyes followed Mistral’s angrily striding figure.

  ‘I do hope Mage De Winter knows what he’s doing.’ Phantom added with a frown.

  ‘Well it certainly looks like he’s done something.’ Phantasm murmured quietly.

  Mistral headed straight to the bathroom and stripped off her wet clothes. Leaving them lying in a damp pile she stepped under the jet of water, gasping at the sudden icy deluge. Turning her face up she closed her eyes and let the cold water flow over her, standing there until her anger washed away, leaving in its wake a crushing despair.

  Fabian didn’t want her.

  She remained motionless under the icy jet for as long as she could physically bear it, letting her warm tears mingle with the cold water. Eventually giving in to her uncontrollable shuddering she stumbled out. Not bothering to dry herself she dragged on her still damp clothes and made her way, wet and miserable, to her room.

  Prospero was sitting patiently outside her room. He padded silently through the door when she opened it and instantly leapt onto the bed, leaving barely any space for her. Mistral sighed but didn’t move him; instead she curled up next to his bulk, burying herself gratefully into his thick coat to cry herself to sleep.

  The next day dragged by with agonising slowness. Fabian did not return to the Valley. He had broken his promise not to leave her and Mistral was silently distraught. Only pride kept her from riding off to find him, confront him, shout and scream and make an even bigger fool of herself than she already had.

  She tried to follow her daily routine but only succeeded in developing a nervous twitch every time she heard the sound of hoof beats, looking around eagerly in the hope of seeing a bright palomino, only to be privately devastated when it never was. In those moments Mistral suffered abject terror that she would never see him again, convinced he had grown frustrated with waiting for her to master Sight and left her.

  By the afternoon Mistral was almost insane with despair. She stared listlessly at Serenity’s aura for the thousandth time, trying to distract her mind from returning to the scene by the river and failing. Her emotions rocketed from scorching passion to sheer desperation as she relived every moment over and over.

  Mistral gritted her teeth and dragged her attention back to Serenity’s aura. It was beautiful, reflecting perfectly her gentle nature in a mist of unblemished pale blue edged in glimmering yellow, reminding Mistral of sunlight on water which instantly bought to mind more unbidden images of Fabian in the river. She curled her hands into sharp fists, forcing her mind to focus again, but after a few seconds her gaze flicked back to the long window overlooking the path the North Gate.

  ‘What’s wrong?’ Serenity’s voice asked quietly in her ear.

  Mistral sighed dejectedly, ‘Oh, nothing.’

  ‘What’s nothing?’ Serenity enquired from across the other side of the room.

  Mistral looked around in confusion. How had Serenity spoken in her ear then moved across the room so quickly? ‘How did you do that?’

  Serenity glided towards her, a small frown puckering the smooth white skin of her brow, ‘I’m sorry Mistral, but I’m not sure I understand. I haven’t done anything. I just walked across the room to stretch my legs since you appear to be a little distracted today.’ Serenity raised an eyebrow questioningly.

  Mistral ignored the question and frowned, ‘But you asked me what was wrong! I heard you. You were right next to me.’

  Serenity shook her head slowly, her gentle brown eyes fixed intently on Mistral, ‘I didn’t say anything.’

  ‘But, I heard you!’ Mistral insisted, growing frustrated.

  ‘I didn’t say it Mistral. I thought it.’

  Mistral’s face froze, her eyes staring unseeingly into nothing. Serenity watched with her healer’s eyes, waiting for the realisation to sink in, tensed ready for hysterics,
wild denials, jubilation, shock – anything but what actually happened.

  Leaping to her feet and knocking her chair over in her haste, Mistral bolted from the room and sprinted along the corridor. Skidding through the Entrance Hall she leapt down the steps and then she was running faster than she ever had in her life, tearing down the path in time to the beat of her pounding heart. Grabbing Cirrus from his stable she threw his tack on and had one foot in the stirrup before they were out of the stable. Whistling for Prospero she kicked Cirrus hard and charged off along the path leading out of the Valley.

  Riding at a breakneck gallop wherever she could, Mistral made it to the only place on the Isle she ever wanted to be in just one hour.

  Unstrapping Cirrus’ saddle and bridle and dropping them on the ground she led her panting horse to the paddock where she was relieved to see Spirit grazing.

  He was here.

  Running on shaking legs towards the house that she knew so well and taking the flight of stone steps up to the front door two at a time, Mistral burst through the door and abruptly halted in the doorway, taking in the scene before her eyes.

  Fabian spun around, startled at her dramatic entrance. He was wearing only a pair of loose trousers, his hair and body wet.

  ‘Mistral!’ his tone was surprised, then, seeing the wild expression on her face, immediately became worried. ‘What’s happened?’ he demanded urgently.

  Mistral crossed the room in three strides and stopped just in front of him, her face consumed by intense emotion.

  Fabian’s eyes searched her face, frowning at her fierce expression, ‘Are you still angry with me?’

  She shook her head once but said nothing.

  His expression shifted to become apologetic, ‘Forgive me Mistral. I thought it best to let you calm down before I tried to talk to you. I intended to come and find you this afternoon. I even had a bath to try and impress you.’ he smiled ruefully, explaining his damp body.

  Her eyes bored into his with acute need. She reached up and pressed her hands against the damp skin of his chest, her eyes blazing as she spoke the two small words she had come to say.

  ‘I Saw.’

  A small furrow of confusion creased his brow then his eyes widened, understanding flaring in their black depths. For a long second they stared at each other before he gently took her face in his hands and kissed her, slowly at first, then harder, full of ruthless passion.

  Abruptly he broke away and Mistral’s eyes flew open, terrified that he would reject her again. She was instantly lost in his black stare, transfixed by the overwhelming need that burned there.

  Wordlessly he swept her into his arms and carried her up the wooden stairs to their bedroom.

  Afternoon slid into early evening. Mistral lay with her head against Fabian’s chest listening blissfully to the steady beat of his heart. To her horror sudden tears ran from her eyes and splashed onto his skin. At once he rolled to face her, a stricken expression on his face.

  ‘Oh Mistral! I’m sorry. I’m so sorry –’

  Mistral shook her head quickly and smiled, ‘No, you’ve made me happy, not sad.’

  ‘Then why are you crying?’ he asked in a bewildered tone.

  She dropped her gaze, her smile fading, ‘Yesterday –’ she hesitated, uncertain of how to express how she felt, then spoke in a sudden rush, the words tumbling over themselves in her haste to get them out. ‘When you lost your temper with me, I thought you didn’t want me anymore, that you’d grown bored with waiting for me and ... and it felt like last year… before you came back –’

  He sighed deeply and pulled her tight to his body, ‘I will always want you. And, I could never, ever be bored with you. I would have waited forever for you.’ he paused and gazed into her eyes with heart-breaking sincerity. ‘Please forgive my behaviour yesterday. I was absolutely furious with myself for nearly losing control and ruining everything you had worked so hard to achieve. I lost my temper with myself, not with you.’

  Her tears forgotten, Mistral gave him a half-smile, ‘Well, I suppose it made a change from being angry with me.’

  He laughed softly. She felt the low rumble in his chest and smiled. They lay like that for a while, in contented silence until Fabian spoke again in a voice of brushed silk.

  ‘Tell me what I’m thinking.’

  Mistral tilted her head to look up at him, studying the sculptured planes of his face, the perfect bow of his upper lip. With no effort at all she could instantly see his aura shimmering around him in bright pinks and golds. Then she heard a subtle sound, the barely heard whisper of his voice, sighing like wind through leaves. She listened to his thoughts for a moment then her eyes widened and a small laugh escaped her lips.

  ‘Is that even possible?’

  ‘Let’s find out,’ he growled, bending his head to kiss her.

  All light had completely faded from sky by the time they spoke again. The room was heavy with the shadows of dusk. Through the small window they could see the first stars appearing in the sky.

  Fabian sighed reluctantly and stroked her arm, ‘I suppose we should be returning to the Valley.’

  Mistral lifted herself from his chest and sat up, yawning and stretching her arms above her head. She gazed down at him, her hair falling over one shoulder and a mischievous smile playing around the corners of her mouth.

  ‘Oh didn’t I tell you? We’re not going anywhere for a whole week. I think the Ri owe us a honeymoon, don’t you?’

  ‘I think they do.’ Fabian smiled and raised a hand to stroke the length of her hair, letting it trail down to her waist. ‘However, wouldn’t you rather we had a more exotic location for our honeymoon? It is traditional after all.’

  ‘No,’ she sighed, laying back into his arms. ‘Here is just perfect.’

  By Wednesday there was no food left in the house and they had to force themselves to go out and hunt. Prospero and the horses had been sorely neglected, but didn’t seem to mind. Several rabbit carcasses littered around the courtyard gave testament to the fact that Prospero could look after himself. They saddled the unwilling horses and rode into the forests to hunt with Prospero bounding happily alongside, pleased to have company again. The winter day was clear and bright, fragile wisps of cloud trailed across the pale blue sky, the early morning sun not yet powerful enough to burn them away. They hunted for most of the morning, enjoying life as neither had ever known it could be. Easy and uncomplicated. They talked and laughed, sharing a touch, a kiss, a tender look. It was past noon when they finally returned to the house. Mistral was telling Fabian a story, his amused smile suddenly vanishing when his gaze fell on the horse paddock.

  ‘We have visitors.’

  Mistral followed his gaze to see two horses grazing in the paddock and instantly recognised them.

  ‘The twins are here,’ she frowned. ‘I wonder what they want.’

  Fabian’s face was expressionless as he dismounted and led Spirit over to the stables. Mistral followed him, neither speaking while they untacked their horses. Holding hands, they walked across the small yard to greet their visitors.

  The twins were sat at the base of the steps leading up to the front door. Phantasm immediately stood up and greeted them cordially.

  ‘Good day Mistral. Mage De Winter.’

  Phantom was less composed, muttering, ‘Oh, for pity’s sake!’ under his breath when he took stock of her appearance. She was wearing one of Fabian’s shirts and her hair hadn’t been combed for days.

  ‘Phantasm, Phantom.’ Fabian eyed them coldly. ‘What can we do for you?’

  ‘Master Sphinx is concerned about Mistral’s protracted absence and has instructed that we discover the cause.’ Phantasm responded promptly.

  Mistral was instantly aggressive, all raised eyebrows and folded her arms, ‘Is this why you’re here? To check-up on me? Who the hell does Leo think he is? And who the hell do you think you are?’

  Phantasm said nothing but Phantom looked slightly embarrassed. A heavy silence fel
l.

  ‘Well now you’ve seen that I’m still alive you can go!’ Mistral spat, radiating volcanic hostility. ‘Oh, and tell Leo I said thanks for his concern and I’ll be back next week.’

  Phantasm arched an eyebrow, ‘And?’

  ‘And what?’

  ‘And, do you have any other messages?’

  Mistral froze. They twins knew. Of course they knew. Serenity had already proved that she couldn’t keep a secret. Half the Valley probably knew by now. She felt her cheeks redden. If they knew she’d finally got the Sight then they probably also knew what she’d been doing all week. Leo wasn’t worried that she was ill or injured; he was worried about his pet Seer’s gift still being functional.

  She narrowed her eyes, her voice a furious hiss, ‘Leo wants to know whether or not I’ve kept the Sight?’

  Phantasm gave her a reproving look, the overbearing older brother once more, ‘His concern is entirely founded Mistral. Serenity said you left despite her expressed instructions to remain. The sudden arrival of your gift must have been quite a shock. You should really have remained under Serenity’s care, not ridden out of the Valley like some reckless runaway! What if you had fallen in the forests? We might never –’

  Mistral wasn’t listening to him. Serenity had called after? She didn’t remember hearing her, or anything other than wanted to get here, to Fabian. She turned to see him stood beside her. He was frowning at Phantasm, no longer cold but concerned. Mistral sighed. Of course, he would now be worried that she could have hurt herself riding like an idiot too. Suddenly fed up with the whole stupid game she held a hand up, halting Phantasm mid-flow.

  ‘Yes brother. Leave off with the whinging. I’ve still got the Sight.’

  ‘Really?’ Phantasm regarded her sceptically. ‘So, you could tell me what I’m thinking right now?’