Mom, although on my side, couldn’t be trusted right now. Ainessa had gotten to her too, which pained me. I’d been so long without her and now I couldn’t allow myself to talk to her any differently than any other courtesan in the place for fear Ainessa would figure out what I was up to.
I laughed at myself. If she did manage to figure it out, I hoped she’d tell me. My plan had pretty much withered away once Valen came on the scene. That man was like a knife in the gut. Any amount of twisting I did only made things worse.
Valen called the meeting to order then proceeded to read off grievances from both the Ignisian and Eldrean consulate. When he called Queen Rachel of Ignis forward, I winced. I wanted to give the woman a piece of my mind or more likely a better view of my fist, but that would have to wait. One day she was going to get it, though.
She glided up to the dais, climbing up one step and faced us. “My lords and ladies,” she said in a syrupy tone. “Each year we come to you for guidance on how to resolve our border disputes with our brother court, and each year a fair and just compromise is made. We of Ignis appreciate your generosity and strive to live peaceable with our neighbors.
A grumble erupted from Theran. He stood. “You are intentionally misleading this court, my lady, and I will not stand for it. If your idea of living peaceably includes raids into non-disputed lands and in some cases blatant attacks, you have indeed been away from the mortal realm too long.”
A hum of whispers shot through the room, but Queen Rachael stood her ground. “If I understand the process correctly,” she said in a way that suggested anyone would be a dimwit to question her understanding, “you will have your time to address the court, Theran. Until then, I ask that the court remind you of your place.”
Valen cleared his throat. “No more outbursts or the room will be cleared.”
Was it evil for me to hope for more outbursts? Theran sat down, which made me almost want to like Queen Rachael and Valen both, as if that was really going to happen.
The queen continued, “What my people are seeking is a more permanent solution.”
Whispers started again and pretty soon it was difficult to concentrate on the queen like I was supposed to.
“I’m given to understand,” she said, raised voice, “that the newest member of our court has particular talents when it comes to elemental magic. I ask that she and her bondmate be sent to find a much needed solution to this problem. Now that we have her, shouldn’t we use her abilities to the advantage of all?”
Valen shushed the crowd. “You can hardly expect her to be ready for such a task when even our best Eldrean wielders cannot manage it.”
So now I was just her to these people. My power was all they cared about, all they would ever care about.
Zach stood so fast I nearly got whiplash looking at him. “If I may address the court?”
Valen nodded and Zach approached the dais. “Rayla’s power is undeniably the single most amazing thing I have ever witnessed, and although I would love an excuse to practice earth magic, I think this unwise. We still don’t know the extent of control she will be able to reach. As it is, I am using a good deal of my own power containing hers in practice.”
More speculative grumbles reached my ears. He’d never told me this. Was he lying to keep me away from Ignis?
“My lords and ladies,” he said. “Asking Rayla to heal the damage we inflicted on this land to begin with is an unfair burden at any time, but now, when she is so vulnerable is unthinkable. I need more time to train her, for her to develop her talents.”
“None of us knows how long we will have this girl,” said the queen. “We must use her power how and when we are able.”
Some people were openly outraged at the queen, yet others nodded in agreement.
One voice reached above the roar of the moaning assembly. “I have firsthand witness to the amazing abilities of this girl.”
I stiffened at the too familiar tinkling voice. When Ainessa strolled out of the hidden room at the top of the dais, I cringed.
What was she doing here? I’d been assured I wouldn’t have to see her again for a long time because in Zach’s absence she was assigned to lead her people.
My veins heated more with every word she uttered. “In fact, on a couple occasions, I have seen her accomplish that which we have believed is unattainable.” She stared straight at me, her bright green eyes boring into mine. “True magic,” she finished.
As if letting the crowd digest what she’d said, she paced the dais. The room filled with a speculative hum. After a few moments, she whipped around to face her audience, her black skirts trailing after her. A slim finger rose into the air until she pointed directly at me. “This girl has raised an unending brick wall, created diamond armor without the designs, and,” she paused, “she has harnessed lightning.”
Gasps erupted all around me. My body tensed as if I was watching a witch hunt, and guess who was the witch? Tabitha made me swear I would not show these people how I could change clothes without the aid of the Altasian machine. She’d made me promise, I wouldn’t use my powers as magic, and here Ainessa was pointing those powers out to the entire fae council. Great.
I stood up, not waiting to address the court. Zach would probably be mad at me for opening my mouth, but how could I stay silent now? I gave Ainessa a cool stare. “She’s right. I’ve been able to do a few things like that, but only when there was no other option. It’s not like I can just snap my fingers and conjure a tiger. I’m no Merlin.”
Zach shook his head and walked back toward me, surely cursing himself for leaving my side in the first place. “Rayla has a point,” he said, surprising me. He stopped next to his sister. “She has only been able to use this type of power on a limited basis. In our training sessions, I’ve been attempting to pull this power to the surface, but nothing I’ve done has worked.”
He had? Was he telling the truth, or saying what he thought the court would want to hear?
Valen spoke up, “Perhaps the dear girl needs another trainer; one that has experience with this sort of thing.”
What was he talking about? My eyeballs hurt from not blinking. He couldn’t be suggesting—
“That is why I am here, Chairman,” said Ainessa. She gave Valen a slicing glance. “I am so happy for my brother and am excited for our nation, but I do worry in his ability to instruct the girl. He has been out of this too long.”
“I have not,” said Zach, evenly. “We all know your real desire, my sister, and it will take more than this attempt to get me to give up my rights as bondmate.”
She bowed her face, “I desire no such thing, Ammon.”
Zach nearly growled at her. “Call me Zach, damn you!”
A twinge of a smile crept along her perfect lips. “You see? He cannot even manage his own sister.”
The room filled with so much noise, I couldn’t make anything else out. My whole body shook from held rage. How could these people call themselves civilized? They were barbaric in the worst way. They allowed treachery to rule the land instead of the voice of reason.
I was not going to stand here and watch them debate my future. No matter what Tabitha thought, I had to act. There was no point in me being here now. The only problem was, if I left, I’d be right back to where I was in the dark realms, dealing with the adverse effects of not being near my bondmate.
The door at the top of the dais opened once again. To my utter horror, Tabitha walked out.
She did not meet my gaze no matter how many times I screamed at her in my head. She had to be hearing this, but she ignored me.
Taking tiny steps, she descended the staircase and glided into the middle of the room. She straddled the line of black and white as always, never deviating. Her voice boomed over the white noise. “Silence!” she demanded.
The room went still.
“I have given my recommendations to Valen, but those seem to not have been passed to the rest of you.” Her pale eyes darted in Valen’s direction, and he bowed his hea
d; yet he kept a defiant set to his mouth. “Zach is right.”
I’d never heard Tabitha call him anything other than Ammon, which made me wonder why she was doing it now. I held onto the railing, not for support, rather to make myself stay where I was. One word raced over and over in my mind, but I’d promised myself I wouldn’t run again. It hadn’t done me any good in the past.
If I did something stupid, the council would surely saddle me with Ainessa or Valen, maybe both of them. I shuddered, but most of all I stayed silent. In fact, I made myself take a seat to signify how ridiculous these people were, and how bored of this I was. They didn’t need to know that if it wouldn’t look bad, I’d be biting my nails to the quick.
Tabitha continued. “We must be careful. We’ve waited too long for this girl to take chances with her. We must allow her abilities to grow naturally. We must adhere to the prophecy.”
“While the rest of us suffer?” said Queen Rachel. “I think not.” She stepped closer to Tabitha. “You have made no recent predictions of consequence where Rayla is concerned; therefore, we should not fear this course.”
Tabitha moved so fast her figure blurred. When she was visible again, she had Queen Rachel in that death grip of hers. “Since you would like a vision so much, I shall show you one.”
The crowd gasped. I, too, held my breath.
The queen’s eyes blinked and when they opened again, they were a mirror of Tabitha’s nearly white orbs. She tried to free herself, but Tabitha held strong, showing her no doubt the same sort of troubling images she’d given me after I married Heath. Her visions had compelled me to bond with Zach when I loved Heath. Even now, I was angry with her for misleading me.
She’d told me later it was one possibility among many. Usually her visions were spot on. It was only with me that she had a multitude of options shown to her.
We all sat in silence, watching, while Queen Rachel screamed and writhed. In an odd way I felt sorry for her. I actually didn’t think she had a bad idea. Why not try to figure out a permanent fix to the land situation instead of temporary solutions that only caused more problems? The similarities between the mortal realm and this one struck me again.
After I thought I couldn’t stand the noise a moment longer, the screaming just stopped. Tabitha released the queen and glanced around the room. “Would any of the rest of you like to see?”
Silence.
“Good,” she said. “Rayla must be left to learn, unmolested.”
With that, she turned and left through the small door. I gaped at Zach, who merely nodded and came back to our booth.
Queen Rachel shook so badly she had to be assisted out of the council chambers. Valen called the meeting to order again, and we settled into a boring few hours of getting nowhere. By the time we finished, my head throbbed. I’d looked for Mom a few times, but I hadn’t seen her again. She wouldn’t be wearing a glamour now. Or would she? Maybe she didn’t want to see me?
After the session was over I let Zach lead me to our room wondering how we could get out of going to dinner with Valen again. I just couldn’t take it tonight.
Zach slowed down, his face filled with concern when he looked at me. “What’s bothering you? I thought you’d be full of questions, or at the least comments, but here you are…silent. Why?”
“I need a break from this,” I said. My voice shook, and I hated that I couldn’t control it.
He pulled me to a stop. In an easy motion, his arms came around me, holding me in a firm embrace. I buried my face into his lapels, fighting the tears, fighting my weakness.
His fingers brushed along my nape. “We’ll get through this, love. I promise. We’ll get through this.”
I sniffed and nodded, pulling away from him. My smile faltered when I gazed into his eyes. Here he was, strong and stalwart as I wilted right in front of him. I’d promised myself I wouldn’t do this. I wouldn’t be this pathetic. My face twisted into a grimace I could no longer hide.
Zach shook his head. “Don’t berate yourself for being mortal, or for the feelings that make you so. You have no idea how fleeting this part of your existence is.”
“You have emotion,” I said, giving him a shrug. “What’s the difference?”
“I also have knowledge you lack. You’re innocence is one of the things I most envy about you.”
I gave him a hard stare, not knowing exactly how to answer him. When I came up empty, I headed for our room again.
Even though I didn’t want to admit it, being around Zach comforted me. When he slipped his fingers through mine, I let him.
“I don’t want to go tonight,” I told him after a while of walking in silence.
“I’ve already sent our regrets,” he said.
My head snapped toward him. “You did?” This was a huge risk I didn’t think he’d take, especially considering how things went today in court.
He smiled, but his eyes held a sad edge. “I’ve been through this before, Rayla. The first time in court is taxing on anyone, but what you had to deal with today is unforgiveable. I apologize for not shielding you sooner.”
He didn’t have to say what came next. I should have been angry with him for trying to manipulate me, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. “You were trying to get me to turn to you for support?”
“Pathetic,” I know, he said. “But I had to do something.”
*****
Inside our room, I slouched onto the sofa. I might as well have been on my feet for days for how my body behaved. The worst part was I was starving, too. “You ordering room service, or what?” I hollered toward the closet.
A knock sounded at the door, so I made myself get up. If it was Valen, I would tell him I was ill. I most assuredly looked the part.
I took a deep breath, slumped my shoulders forward a bit, and swung the door open.
Cassie stood on the other side, grin as wide as the grand canyon.
I squealed and launched myself at her, pulling her into a tight hug. “I had no idea you were here,” I said into her hair. “I hoped I would see you at court, but when I didn’t I just assumed you’d stayed behind.”
“They never called us,” she said. “They made us sit in a shoebox of a room half the day then told us the session was over. Finn assured me this is court as usual, but I still wanted to barge in there and demand an audience. Why they aren’t talking to the people this shifting border affects is beyond me.”
I shook my head at her. I hadn’t seen her in forever, and she was talking about borders? “Speaking of, where is Finn?”
“Arranging dinner,” she said. “I don’t know about you, but I’m starved.”
When I laughed, her dark brows shot up. Suddenly, the hair on the back of my neck rose and a chill rolled through me. Someone was watching us. I pulled her through the door and checked the hall, hoping our hidden observer was Nicco.
I hadn’t seen him since this morning, and not having him stand guard was just weird. Zach strolled out of the closet wearing jeans and a black cable sweater that intensified his beautiful eyes. He took one look at Cassie and smiled.
His long stride brought him in front of us within moments. “Cassie.” Ever the diplomat, he said, “It’s so good to see you. I trust your journey to Lombarda was enjoyable?”
She scoffed. “Enjoyable enough when you consider it took us two days to get here.”
How odd. It shouldn’t have taken more than a few seconds to drift to the borders. “Why?” I asked.
She shifted uneasily. “I thought you knew. Drifting is not possible in all of Lombarda, not just around the castle.”
I turned to Zach for answers. He gave me a shrug. “It was why I couldn’t save you when you jumped off the terrace your first time here. I thought you realized.”
It’d never really come up, but that explained why I’d ridden a carriage in and out of here.
Zach continued. “Lombarda enjoys our best fortifications. The rest of us must make do with what security we can manage.”
<
br /> I reached out for Cassie’s hand. “I’m just glad you’re here now.” I gave her fingers a good squeeze. “Where are you staying?”
“Couple floors down,” she said. “I asked for adjoining chambers, but apparently those are being occupied.”
This was just strange on so many levels. First, why hadn’t I been thinking that much about Cassie or my family, for that matter, since I’d come here? It was as though my mind still wasn’t working right. Could compulsion take away feelings as well as make them? Second, why was Cassie so concerned with a shifting border? She wasn’t queen of Ignis, so her emotions seemed off, as well. The truth was, I couldn’t tell what was real anymore, emotion or otherwise, especially when Heath wasn’t around. He somehow anchored me, and not having him near me had become more than just emotionally painful. I seemed to have a need to keep him close, but that was what I should have been feeling for Zach considering our bond.
One thing was certain, I couldn’t think about this now. Cassie was chattering about how nice the summer had been and how she was glad to see some blue sky for a change.
I nodded at her and tried my best to participate in the conversation, but everything was just wrong. “Cassie?” I interrupted after I couldn’t stand her small talk a second longer. She stopped abruptly, giving me a worried stare. I guess I should have given her enough courtesy to finish her sentence.
“What’s wrong, Rayla?”
Finn didn’t seem like the kind of guy to purposely hurt Cassie, but she hadn’t even mentioned her mom in over half an hour, or home, or school, or anything other than the fire realm. Was it the bond doing this, taking away her memory of her former life? “Uh,” I said to give myself time to gather my thoughts. “Have you heard anything about your mom?”
Cassie’s face went sort of blank before she asked, “I’m sorry, what did you say?”
“Your mom? Have you heard anything about where she is, or if she is even alive?”
That same weird look crossed her face like her head was under water while I was talking. Then suddenly she rubbed her neck. “Wow, Rayla, I don’t know what’s come over me. I’m suddenly really tired and my stomach hurts. Can we talk more in the morning?”
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